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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Selected mountain-related landform

Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, upland refers to a range of hills, typically from 300 m (980 ft) up to 600 m (2,000 ft), while highland is usually reserved for ranges of low mountains. However, the two terms are interchangeable and also include regions that are transitional between hilly and mountainous terrain. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

Coast Mountains taken from the International Space Station from outer space, the Canadian Rockies can be seen at the right

The Coast Mountains (French: La chaîne Côtière) are a major mountain range in the Pacific Coast Ranges of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the Coast of British Columbia south to the Fraser River. The mountain range's name derives from its proximity to the sea coast, and it is often referred to as the Coast Range. The range includes volcanic and non-volcanic mountains and the extensive ice fields of the Pacific and Boundary Ranges, and the northern end of the volcanic system known as the Cascade Volcanoes. The Coast Mountains are part of a larger mountain system called the Pacific Coast Ranges or the Pacific Mountain System, which includes the Cascade Range, the Insular Mountains, the Olympic Mountains, the Oregon Coast Range, the California Coast Ranges, the Saint Elias Mountains and the Chugach Mountains. The Coast Mountains are also part of the American Cordillera—a Spanish term for an extensive chain of mountain ranges—that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that form the western backbone of North America, Central America, South America and Antarctica.

The Coast Mountains are approximately 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) long and average 300 kilometres (190 mi) in width. The range's southern and southeastern boundaries are surrounded by the Fraser River and the Interior Plateau while its far northwestern edge is delimited by the Kelsall and Tatshenshini Rivers at the north end of the Alaska Panhandle, beyond which are the Saint Elias Mountains, and by Champagne Pass in the Yukon Territory. Covered in dense temperate rainforest on its western exposures, the range rises to heavily glaciated peaks, including the largest temperate-latitude ice fields in the world. On its eastern flanks, the range tapers to the dry Interior Plateau and the subarctic boreal forests of the Skeena Mountains and Stikine Plateau. (Full article...)

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A cuesta (Spanish for 'slope') is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology, the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, the whole being tilted somewhat from the horizontal. This results in a long and gentle backslope called a dip slope that conforms with the dip of resistant strata, called caprock. Where erosion has exposed the frontslope of this, a steep slope or escarpment occurs. The resulting terrain may be called scarpland. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Exposure is a climbing and hiking term. Sections of a hiking path or climbing route are described as "exposed" if there is a high risk of injury in the event of a fall because of the steepness of the terrain. If such routes are negotiated without any protection, a false step can result in a serious fall. The negotiation of such routes can cause fear of falling because of the potential danger. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A piste (/piːst/) is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports.

This European term is French ("trail", "track") and synonymous with 'trail', 'slope', or 'run' in North America. The word is pronounced using a long "e" sound so that it rhymes with "beast". (Full article...)

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