Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

View of the south side of the Santa Catalina Mountains as seen from Tucson, Arizona.

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); some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain-related landform

A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín ("little ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine. Assemblages of drumlins are referred to as fields or swarms; they can create a landscape which is often described as having a 'basket of eggs topography'. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

A view from Kom Peak in western Bulgaria

The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkans in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs for about 560 kilometres (350 mi), first in a south-easterly direction along the border, then eastward across Bulgaria, forming a natural barrier between the northern and southern halves of the country, before finally reaching the Black Sea at Cape Emine. The mountains reach their highest point with Botev Peak at 2,376 metres (7,795 ft).

In much of the central and eastern sections, the summit forms the watershed between the drainage basins of the Black Sea and the Aegean. A prominent gap in the mountains is formed by the predominantly narrow Iskar Gorge, a few miles north of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. The karst relief determines the large number of caves, including Magura, featuring the most important and extended European post-Palaeolithic cave painting, Ledenika, Saeva dupka, Bacho Kiro, etc. The most notable rock formation are the Belogradchik Rocks in the west. (Full article...)

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A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Several geological processes may cause the formation of mud volcanoes. Mud volcanoes are not true igneous volcanoes as they do not produce lava and are not necessarily driven by magmatic activity. Mud volcanoes may range in size from merely 1 or 2 meters high and 1 or 2 meters wide, to 700 meters high and 10 kilometers wide. Smaller mud exudations are sometimes referred to as mud-pots.

The mud produced by mud volcanoes is mostly formed as hot water, which has been heated deep below the Earth's surface, begins to mix and blend with subterranean mineral deposits, thus creating the mud slurry exudate. This material is then forced upwards through a geological fault or fissure due to local subterranean pressure imbalances. Mud volcanoes are associated with subduction zones and about 1100 have been identified on or near land. The temperature of any given active mud volcano generally remains fairly steady and is much lower than the typical temperatures found in igneous volcanoes. Mud volcano temperatures can range from near 100 °C (212 °F) to occasionally 2 °C (36 °F), some being used as popular "mud baths". (Full article...)

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The main aid climbing systems are the A-grade (usually the "new wave" version) and the C-grade systems. While aid climbing is less popular as a standalone pursuit, aid techniques remain important in big wall climbing and alpine climbing, where the level of difficulties can vary significantly on long routes, and thus the use of aid in places is still common (e.g. The Nose on El Capitan is graded '5.9 (American) C2 (aid)' with aid, but an extremely difficult '5.14a (American)' without any aid; guidebooks will mark such routes as '5.9 & C2 (5.14a)', with the no-aid/fully free option in brackets. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 2Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 3A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 4Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 5Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 6The 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 7This 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 8The 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 9Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 10Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 11Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 12The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 13The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 14Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 15Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 16Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 17Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 18The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 19Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 20Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 21Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 22Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 23British 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 24Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 25Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 26Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 27Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 28A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 29The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 30Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 31Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 32Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 33Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 34Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 35Everest 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 36An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 37Mont Blanc on the border between Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 38Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 39Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 40Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 41Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 42Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 43Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)

Selected skiing article

Birkebeinerrennet 2010

Birkebeinerrennet (lit. The Birkebeiner race) is a long-distance cross-country ski marathon held annually in Norway. It debuted in 1932 and has been a part of Worldloppet since Worldloppet's inception in 1979.

The Birkebeinerrennet is one of three races held under the Birkebeiner moniker, the other two being Birkebeinerrittet (bicycling) and Birkebeinerløpet [no] (cross-country running). (Full article...)

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