Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Uluguru Mountains, in Tanzania

A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (980 ft) above the surrounding land. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges.

Mountains are formed through tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism, which act on time scales of up to tens of millions of years. Once mountain building ceases, mountains are slowly leveled through the action of weathering, through slumping and other forms of mass wasting, as well as through erosion by rivers and glaciers.

High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level at similar latitude. These colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate, mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction, such as mining and logging, along with recreation, such as mountain climbing and skiing.

The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is 8,850 m (29,035 ft) above mean sea level. The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars at 21,171 m (69,459 ft). The tallest mountain including submarine terrain is Mauna Kea in Hawaii from its underwater base at 9,330 m (30,610 ft) and some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight sides and a flat or rounded bottom (by contrast, valleys carved by rivers tend to be V-shaped in cross-section). Glaciated valleys are formed when a glacier travels across and down a slope, carving the valley by the action of scouring. When the ice recedes or thaws, the valley remains, often littered with small boulders that were transported within the ice, called glacial till or glacial erratic.

Examples of U-shaped valleys are found in mountainous regions throughout the world including the Andes, Alps, Caucasus Mountains, Himalaya, Rocky Mountains, New Zealand and the Scandinavian Mountains. They are found also in other major European mountains including the Carpathian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Rila and Pirin mountains in Bulgaria, and the Scottish Highlands. A classic glacial trough is in Glacier National Park in Montana, USA in which the St. Mary River runs. Another well-known U-shaped valley is the Nant Ffrancon valley in Snowdonia, Wales. (Full article...)

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Location of Aristotle Mountains on the Antarctic Peninsula

Aristotle Mountains is the fan-shaped sequence of ridges spreading east-northeastwards from its summit Madrid Dome (1647 m) on Oscar II Coast in Graham Land on the Antarctic Peninsula. The feature is named after the ancient Greek scientist Aristotle who in his book Meteorology dated c. 350 BC was the first to conjecture the existence of a landmass in the southern high-latitude region, calling it Antarctica. (Full article...)

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Geomorphology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal about geomorphology. (Full article...)

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Climbing is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of Urban Climber Magazine. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine times a year. Climbing was purchased by Outside in 2021. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various mountain-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 2Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 3Mont Blanc in Aosta Valley, Italy, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 4Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 5Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 6Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 7Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 8Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 9A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 10Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 11Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 12An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 13British mountaineer William Cecil Slingsby became known as the father of Norwegian mountaineering and contributed greatly to its popularization with his classic book Norway, the Northern Playground (from Mountaineering)
Image 14Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 15Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 16The Dolomite Mountains, Italy, in summer. The climate of the Dolomites is characterized by short but warm and mild summers, while winters are long and very cold. (from Mountain)
Image 17Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 18A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 19Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 20The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)
Image 21Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 22The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 23Everest is highest from sea level (green), Mauna Kea is highest from its base (orange), Cayambe is farthest from Earth's axis (pink) and Chimborazo is farthest from Earth's centre (blue) (from Mountain)
Image 24Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 25Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 26Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 27Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 28The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 29Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 30Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 31Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 32Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 33This 1848 "Sketch showing the actual elevation of the Snow Line in different Latitudes" by Alexander Keith Johnston shows the snow lines of mountains in America, Europe and Asia (from Snow line)
Image 34The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 35Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 36Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 37Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 38Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 39Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 40Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 41Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 42The Andes, the longest mountain range on the surface of the Earth, have a dramatic impact on the climate of South America (from Mountain range)

Selected skiing article

Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using the rear foot to keep balance while pushing on the front foot to create a carving turn on downhill skis with toe-only bindings. Telemark skiing is named after the Telemark region of Norway, where the discipline originated. Sondre Norheim is often credited for first demonstrating the turn in ski races, which included cross country, slalom, and jumping, in Norway around 1868. Sondre Norheim also experimented with ski and binding design, introducing side cuts to skis and heel bindings (like a cable). (Full article...)

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