Portal:Mountains

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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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A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains and typically containing a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams over a very long period. Some valleys are formed through erosion by glacial ice. These glaciers may remain present in valleys in high mountains or polar areas.

At lower latitudes and altitudes, these glacially formed valleys may have been created or enlarged during ice ages but now are ice-free and occupied by streams or rivers. In desert areas, valleys may be entirely dry or carry a watercourse only rarely. In areas of limestone bedrock, dry valleys may also result from drainage now taking place underground rather than at the surface. Rift valleys arise principally from earth movements, rather than erosion. Many different types of valleys are described by geographers, using terms that may be global in use or else applied only locally. (Full article...)

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Official (orange) and colloquial (purple) boundaries of the Britannia Range

The Britannia Range is a small mountain range of the Coast Mountains that runs along the eastern shore of Howe Sound just north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a subrange of the Pacific Ranges and often considered part of the North Shore Mountains. The range is bounded by the Howe Sound to the west, the Stawamus River to the north, Loch Lomond on the upper Seymour River to the east, and Deeks Lake to the south. However, some official maps extend the range further south of these boundaries and many local sources such as hiking guidebooks will often include all of the peaks along the Howe Sound between Deeks Lake and Cypress Mountain as part of the range.

The geology of the Britannia Range is different to the surrounding highly granitic North Shore Mountains due to the high prevalence of volcanic rock (such as at Watts Point volcanic centre) and sedimentary rock like sandstone and shale. (Full article...)

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An aerial view of the Gros Piton and Petit Piton, in St. Lucia, 2006.

A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. In a plinian eruption the plug is destroyed and ash is ejected.

Glacial erosion can lead to exposure of the plug on one side, while a long slope of material remains on the opposite side. Such landforms are called crag and tail. If a plug is preserved, erosion may remove the surrounding rock while the erosion-resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive upstanding landform. (Full article...)

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In physical geography and physical geology, aspect (also known as exposure) is the compass direction or azimuth that a terrain surface faces.

For example, a slope landform on the eastern edge of the Rockies toward the Great Plains is described as having an easterly aspect. A slope which falls down to a deep valley on its western side and a shallower one on its eastern side has a westerly aspect or is a west-facing slope. The direction a slope faces can affect the physical and biotic features of the slope, known as a slope effect. (Full article...)

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

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Ski Cross competitors navigating a jump during the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics competitions in Lillehammer, Norway

Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often considered a type of freestyle skiing. What sets ski cross apart from other alpine skiing disciplines is that it involves more than one skier racing down the course. Any intentional contact with other competitors like grabbing or any other forms of contact meant to give the competitor an advantage leads to disqualification.

Ski cross is a part of the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, the world championship organized by the FIS for freestyle skiing. First organized in 1986, the world championship is now held every odd year. In 2010 the sport debuted as a part of the Winter Olympic Games and has been contested ever since. It was a part of the Winter X Games until 2012. (Full article...)

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