Portal:Mountains

Portal

WikiProject

Discussion

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...)

Show new selections below (purge)

Selected mountain-related landform

The region between the current leading edge of the glacier and the moraines of latest maximum is called glacier foreland or glacier forefield. In the Alps this maximum was in 1850 and since then the region has become ice free due to deglaciation. Because of this relative recent development of vegetation and morphodynamic the glacier foreland differs considerably from the surrounding landscape. (Full article...)

More mountain landforms

Selected mountain range

Defense Mapping Agency map of Greenland sheet showing on the right the area of the Lemon Range.

The Lemon Range or Lemon Mountains (Danish: Lemon Bjerge) is a mountain range in King Christian IX Land, eastern Greenland. Administratively this range is part of the Sermersooq Municipality. (Full article...)

More mountain ranges

Selected mountain type

A tuya is a flat-topped, steep-sided volcano formed when lava erupts through a thick glacier or ice sheet. They are rare worldwide, being confined to regions which were covered by glaciers and had active volcanism during the same period.

As lava that erupts under a glacier cools very quickly and cannot travel far, it piles up into a steep-sided hill. If the eruption continues long enough, it either melts all the ice or emerges through the top of the ice and then creates normal-looking lava flows that make a flat cap on top of the hill. Discovering and dating the lava flows in a tuya has proven useful in reconstructing past glacial ice extents and thicknesses. (Full article...)

More mountain types

Selected climbing article

Jakob Schubert in the competition lead climbing final of the 2018 IFSC World Championships

Competition climbing is a form of regulated rock climbing competition held indoors on purpose-built artificial climbing walls (earlier versions were held on external natural rock surfaces). The three competition climbing disciplines are lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing. The result of multiple disciplines can be used in a "combined" format to determine an all-round winner (or the "combined" winner). Competition climbing is sometimes called "sport climbing", which is the name given to pre-bolted lead climbing.

In competition lead climbing, competitors start at the bottom of a pre-bolted sport climbing route and lead-climb to touch or secure the highest climbing hold possible within a set time limit on a single attempt, making sure to clip the rope into pre-placed quickdraws while ascending. In competition bouldering, competitors climb short bouldering problems without a rope, with an emphasis on the number of problems completed, and the attempts necessary to do so. In competition speed climbing, competitors race-off in pairs on a standardised 'speed climbing wall' using a top rope on an auto belay, in the shortest time possible. (Full article...)

More climbing articles

edit

Related portals

General images

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

Image 1Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 2British 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 3Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 4Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 5Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 6The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 7Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 8Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 9The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 10Mont Blanc in Aosta Valley, Italy, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 11The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 12Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 13Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 14Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 15Mountain rescue team members and other services attend to a casualty in Freiburg Germany. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 16The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 17The Andes, the longest mountain range on the surface of the Earth, have a dramatic impact on the climate of South America (from Mountain range)
Image 18Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 19A mountain rescue team in Iran moving a casualty. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 20Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 21Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 22Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 23An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 24Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 25Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 26Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 27Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 28This 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 29Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 30Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 31Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 32Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 33Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 34Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 35Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 36Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 37Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 38Everest 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 39A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 40A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 41The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)

Selected skiing article

Skijor racing with horses

Skijoring (pronounced /ˌskiːˈdʒɔːrɪŋ/) (skijouring in British English) is a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog (or dogs), another animal, or a motor vehicle. The name is derived from the Norwegian word skikjøring, meaning "ski driving". Although skijoring is said to have originated as a mode of winter travel, it is currently primarily a competitive sport. (Full article...)