Portal:Mountains

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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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Selected mountain-related landform

A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rates of movement. The resulting intensity of the shear stress causes a breakage along the faces. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

Alagalla (Sinhala: අලගල්ල, literal translation: Tuber rock) Mountain Range is situated at the boundaries of the Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces in Sri Lanka. Along with the surrounding Bathalegala (බතලේගල) also known as Bible Rock, Uthuwankanda (උතුවන්කන්ද), Devanagala (දෙවනගල), Ambuluwawa (අම්බුළුවාව), Knuckles Mountain Range and Hanthana (හන්තාන) Mountain Range, Alagalla mountain has served as a natural defense location for nearly five centuries (1505–1948) against the Portuguese, Dutch and English invasions aimed at the Kandyan Kingdom. (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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Selected climbing article

An auto belay (or autobelay) is a mechanical device for belaying in indoor climbing walls, in both training and competition climbing formats. The device enables a climber to ascend indoor routes on a top rope but without the need for a human belaying partner. The device, which is permanently mounted in a fixed position at the top of the route, winds up a tape or steel wire to which the ascending climber is attached. When the ascending climber sits back, or falls, the auto belay automatically brakes and smoothly lowers the climber to the ground. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Ski boots are footwear used in skiing to provide a way to attach the skier to skis using ski bindings. The ski/boot/binding combination is used to effectively transmit control inputs from the skier's legs to the snow. (Full article...)

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