Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Uluguru Mountains, in Tanzania

A mountain is an elevated portion of the surface of a planet, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although there are no universally accepted definitions, a mountain is usually considered higher than a hill. By definition, mountains are often thought of as being a landform which is higher than 2,000 feet (610 m). It may either have a limited summit area or be a smaller plateau with high elevation and steep sides. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in mountain ranges.^{[page needed]}

Mountains are formed through tectonic forces, erosion, or volcanism,^{[page needed]} 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 highest mountain on Earth from base to peak is Mauna Kea in Hawaii, which rises 9,330 m (30,610 ft) from its base at the bottom of the ocean; some scientists consider it to be the tallest on Earth. (Full article...)

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A cordillera is a chain or network of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from cordilla, a diminutive of cuerda ('rope').

The term is most commonly used in physical geography and is particularly applied to the various large mountain systems of the American Cordillera, such as the Andes of South America, and less frequently to other mountain ranges in the "ridge" that rims the Pacific Ocean. In Colombia and Venezuela, cordilleras are named according to their position: Cordillera Occidental, Central, and Oriental. Various local names are used for the cordilleras in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. (Full article...)

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Belgica Mountains is an isolated chain of mountains about 10 miles (16 km) long, standing 60 miles (97 km) east-southeast of the Sor Rondane Mountains in Queen Maud Land, in the Antarctic. The chain was discovered by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1957-1958) under Gaston de Gerlache, and named after the ship Belgica, commanded by his father, Lt. Adrien de Gerlache, leader of the Belgian Antarctic Expedition of 1897–99. (Full article...)

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A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from cirque erosion caused by multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples of nunataks. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1This 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 2Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 3A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 4Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 5A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 6British 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 7Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 8Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 9Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 10Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 11Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 12Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 13Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 14Coverage of important mountain biodiversity sites in protected areas by country (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 15Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 16Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 17Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 18Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 19Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 20Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 21Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 22The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 23Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 24The 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 25Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 26Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 27Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 28The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 29Everest 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 30Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 31Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 32Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 33Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering. (from Mountaineering)
Image 34K2, the second highest mountain in the world (from Mountaineering)
Image 35The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. Mount Illimani dominates the city's skyline. (from Mountain)
Image 36Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 37Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 38An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 39The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 40Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 41Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)

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A shaped alpine ski, showing sidecut—the narrowing of the ski, near the binding.

Skis are runners that are designed to glide over snow. Skiers employ them in pairs, attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can be affixed at the base of each ski to prevent them from sliding backwards. Originally used as a means of travel over snow, skis have become specialized for recreational and competitive alpine and cross-country skiing. Skis may also be attached to vehicles, such as aircraft or snowmobiles. (Full article...)