Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Silvretta panorama from the Ochsenkopf

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

An inselberg or monadnock (/məˈnædnɒk/ mə-NAD-nok) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an Afrikaans word ("little head") from the Dutch diminutive word kopje. If the inselberg is dome-shaped and formed from granite or gneiss, it can also be called a bornhardt, though not all bornhardts are inselbergs. An inselberg results when a body of rock resistant to erosion, such as granite, occurring within a body of softer rocks, is exposed by differential erosion and lowering of the surrounding landscape. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

Monashee Mountains are indicated. In the left of the image lies Vancouver Island. The boundary here includes the Okanagan Highland and portions of the Shuswap Highland.

The Monashee Mountains are a mountain range lying mostly in British Columbia, Canada, extending into the U.S. state of Washington. They stretch 530 km (329 mi) from north to south and 150 km (93 mi) from east to west. They are a sub-range of the Columbia Mountains. The highest summit is Mount Monashee, which reaches 3,274 m (10,741 ft). The name is from the Scottish Gaelic monadh and sìth, meaning "moor" and "peace". (Full article...)

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Selected mountain type

Fold mountains are formed by the effects of folding on layers within the upper part of the Earth's crust. Before the development of the theory of plate tectonics and before the internal architecture of thrust belts became well understood, the term was used to describe most mountain belts but has otherwise fallen out of use. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Alain Robert free soloing (and onsight), *No Self Control* 7a (5.11d) in the Verdon Gorge, 1991.

Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climbers (or free soloists) climb solo (or alone) without ropes or other protective equipment, using only their climbing shoes and their climbing chalk. Free soloing is the most dangerous form of climbing, and, unlike bouldering, free soloists climb above safe heights, where a fall can be fatal. Though many climbers have free soloed climbing grades they are very comfortable on, only a tiny group free solo regularly, and at grades closer to the limit of their abilities.

Some climbers' profiles have been increased by free soloing (e.g. Alex Honnold and John Bachar), but some question the ethics of this, and whether the risks they are undertaking should be encouraged and commercially rewarded. "Free solo" was originally a term of climber slang, but after the popularity of the Oscar-winning film Free Solo, Merriam-Webster officially added the word to their English dictionary in September 2019. (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 (from Mountaineering)
Image 2Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 3British 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 4Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 5The 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 6Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 7Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 8Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 9Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 10Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 11Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 12A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 13Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 14Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 15Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 16Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 17Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 18Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 19Mont Blanc in Aosta Valley, Italy, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 20The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 21Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 22The 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 23An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 24Everest 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 25Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 26Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 27A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 28The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 29Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 30This 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 31Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 32The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 33The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)
Image 34Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 35Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 36Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 37Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 38Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 39Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 40The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 41Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 42Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)

Selected skiing article

Side view of building shows its ski jump shape

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Ishpeming, Michigan, the birthplace of organized skiing in the United States. Located in the state's Upper Peninsula, the building includes the hall of fame and museum, as well as a theater, library, gift shop, offices, and ample storage space for archive material and collections. The current building opened in 1992. (Full article...)

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