Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

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 600 metres (2,000 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); some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall under the category of slope landforms. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

The Adam Range is a mountain range on Île Vanier, Nunavut, Canada. It is one of the many mountain ranges in the Canadian Arctic that make up the Arctic Cordillera mountain system. (Full article...)

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Fault blocks are very large blocks of rock, sometimes hundreds of kilometres in extent, created by tectonic and localized stresses in Earth's crust. Large areas of bedrock are broken up into blocks by faults. Blocks are characterized by relatively uniform lithology. The largest of these fault blocks are called crustal blocks. Large crustal blocks broken off from tectonic plates are called terranes. Those terranes which are the full thickness of the lithosphere are called microplates. Continent-sized blocks are called variously microcontinents, continental ribbons, H-blocks, extensional allochthons and outer highs.

Because most stresses relate to the tectonic activity of moving plates, most motion between blocks is horizontal, that is parallel to the Earth's crust by strike-slip faults. However vertical movement of blocks produces much more dramatic results. Landforms (mountains, hills, ridges, lakes, valleys, etc.) are sometimes formed when the faults have a large vertical displacement. Adjacent raised blocks (horsts) and down-dropped blocks (grabens) can form high escarpments. Often the movement of these blocks is accompanied by tilting, due to compaction or stretching of the crust at that point. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Rock climbing is a climbing sports discipline that involves ascending routes consisting of natural rock in an outdoor environment, or on artificial resin climbing walls in a mostly indoor environment. Routes are documented in guidebooks, and on online databases, detailing how to climb the route (called the beta), and who made the first ascent (or FA) and the coveted first free ascent (or FFA). Climbers will try to ascend a route onsight, however, a climber can spend years projecting a route before they make a redpoint ascent.

Routes range from a few metres to over a 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) in height, and traverses can reach 4,500 metres (14,800 ft) in length. They include slabs, faces, cracks and overhangs/roofs. Popular rock types are granite (e.g. El Capitan), limestone (e.g. Verdon Gorge), and sandstone (e.g. Saxon Switzerland) but 43 types of climbable rock types have been identified. Artificial indoor climbing walls are popular and competition climbing — which takes place on artificial walls — became an Olympic sport in 2020. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 2Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 3Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 4Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 5Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 6Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 7Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 8Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 9Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 10Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 11The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 12Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 13Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 14The 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 15Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 16Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 17Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 18K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, is revered for its isolation, difficulty, and the profound sense of awe it inspires among climbers. Many alpinists describe ascents of peaks like K2 as deeply spiritual experiences, combining physical challenge with introspection and transcendence. (from Mountaineering)
Image 19The 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 20The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 21Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 22Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 23Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 24Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 25Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 26Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 27British 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 28The 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 29Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 30Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 31Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 32Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 33Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 34An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 35Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 36Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 37A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 38This 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 39Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 40Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 41Everest 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 42The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 43A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 44Mont Blanc on the border between Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)