Portal:Mountains

Portal

WikiProject

Discussion

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 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); some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

Show new selections below (purge)

Selected mountain-related landform

A trim line marks the previous height of Tana Glacier in Alaska

A trim line, also written as trimline, is a clear line on the side of a valley formed by a glacier. The line marks the most recent highest extent of the glacier. The line may be visible due to changes in color to the rock or to changes in vegetation on either side of the line.

The term "trim line" is also used for similar looking phenomena caused by floods, volcanic activity, or tsunamis. (Full article...)

More mountain landforms

Selected mountain range

The Hundalee Hills are located close to the borders of Hurunui District and Kaikōura District in Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand.

Located 40 kilometres (24.85 mi) to the south of Kaikōura, Hundalee Hills are known largely for a notorious stretch of State Highway 1 between Kaikōura and Christchurch. The road winds sharply around the edge of several hills, as does the Conway River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean close to the Hundalees. (Full article...)

More mountain ranges

Selected mountain type

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...)

More mountain types

Selected climbing article

Alpinist crossing the famous Hinterstoisser traverse on the Eiger north face, *1938 Heckmair Route*

In climbing and mountaineering, a traverse is a section of a climbing route where the climber moves laterally (or horizontally), as opposed to in an upward direction. The term has broad application, and its use can range from describing a brief section of lateral movement on a pitch of a climbing route, to large multi-pitch climbing routes that almost entirely consist of lateral movement such as girdle traverses that span the entire rock face of a crag, to mountain traverses that span entire ridges connecting chains of mountain peaks.

Long traverses in rock climbing and alpine climbing may require additional climbing techniques (e.g. a pendulum or a tension traverse), and pieces of climbing equipment (e.g. ascenders) to manage the risks of the lead climber and/or the following climber falling far off the main route. Long traverses also place increased pressure on the abilities of the following climber than in a normal climb. Traversing is an even more regular feature in bouldering and is also a popular rock climbing training technique on indoor climbing walls. (Full article...)

More climbing articles

edit

Related portals

General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A monoski is a single wide ski used for skiing on snow. The same boots, bindings, and poles are used as in alpine skiing. Unlike in snowboarding, both feet face forward, rather than sideways to the direction of travel. Similar equipment includes the skwal and the teleboard, with feet in tandem formation (one ahead of the other).

Monoskiing was invented in the late 1950s by Dennis Phillips at Hyak, Washington using a single water ski and bear trap bindings. Surfer Mike Doyle promoted the monoski in the early 1970s, after which monoskiing's relative popularity slowly increased, but the interest eventually waned in favor of snowboarding. (Full article...)

More skiing articles