Austrian geologist Eduard Suess proposed the contraction hypothesis in 1885. Suess suggested that the Earth was cooling and shrinking, which caused the crust to wrinkle and fold, forming mountains. He believed that the Earth's crust was composed of a series of rigid plates that moved over a liquid layer of magma. As the Earth cooled, the plates contracted and were forced to move together, colliding and forming mountains.

Suess's hypothesis was based on his observations of the geology of the Alps and other mountain ranges. He noted that the rocks in these areas were often folded and thrust over each other, and he interpreted this as evidence of a powerful compressive force. He also pointed out that the Earth's surface was not smooth, but rather was covered in a series of褶皱, which he believed were the result of the contraction of the Earth's crust.

The contraction hypothesis was widely accepted by geologists for many years, but it has since been replaced by the theory of plate tectonics. Plate tectonics explains the formation of mountains as the result of the movement of tectonic plates, rather than the contraction of the Earth's crust.