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 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...)

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Hypothetical valley cross-section illustrating a complex sequence of aggradational (fill) and degradational (cut and strath) terraces. Note ct = cut terrace, ft = fill terrace, ft(b) = buried fill terrace, fp = active floodplain, and st = strath terrace.

Fluvial terraces are elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplain, other fluvial terraces, or uplands by distinctly steeper strips of land called "risers". These terraces lie parallel to and above the river channel and its floodplain. Because of the manner in which they form, fluvial terraces are underlain by fluvial sediments of highly variable thickness. River terraces are the remnants of earlier floodplains that existed at a time when either a stream or river was flowing at a higher elevation before its channel downcut to create a new floodplain at a lower elevation. Changes in elevation can be due to changes in the base level (elevation of the lowest point in the fluvial system, usually the drainage basin) of the fluvial system, which leads to headward erosion along the length of either a stream or river, gradually lowering its elevation. For example, downcutting by a river can lead to increased velocity of a tributary, causing that tributary to erode toward its headwaters. Terraces can also be left behind when the volume of the fluvial flow declines due to changes in climate, typical of areas which were covered by ice during periods of glaciation, and their adjacent drainage basins. (Full article...)

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Titov Vrv (back) and Small Turk (front), the tallest peaks of Šar Mountains

The Šar Mountains (Serbian: Шар-планина / Šar-planina, Macedonian: Шар Планина, romanized: Šar Planina; colloquially also Šara, Cyrillic: Шара) or Sharr Mountains (Albanian: Malet e Sharrit) is a mountain range in Southeast Europe, extending into several countries from southern Kosovo, to northwestern North Macedonia, to northeastern Albania. The sections in Kosovo, and in North Macedonia are national parks (Sharr Mountains National Park in Kosovo). Rugged and barren, the mountains are among the highest in the Balkans, with 30 peaks higher than 2,500 m (8,202 ft). (Full article...)

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Mount Rainier, a 4,392 m (14,411 ft) stratovolcano, the highest point in the US state of Washington

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and explosive eruptions. Some have collapsed summit craters called calderas. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high to intermediate levels of silica (as in rhyolite, dacite, or andesite), with lesser amounts of less viscous mafic magma. Extensive felsic lava flows are uncommon, but can travel as far as 8 km (5 mi).

The term composite volcano is used because strata are usually mixed and uneven instead of neat layers. They are among the most common types of volcanoes; more than 700 stratovolcanoes have erupted lava during the Holocene Epoch (the last 11,700 years), and many older, now extinct, stratovolcanoes erupted lava as far back as Archean times. Stratovolcanoes are typically found in subduction zones but they also occur in other geological settings. Two examples of stratovolcanoes famous for catastrophic eruptions are Krakatoa in Indonesia (which erupted in 1883 claiming 36,000 lives) and Mount Vesuvius in Italy (which erupted in 79 A.D killing an estimated 2,000 people). In modern times, Mount St. Helens (1980) in Washington State, US, and Mount Pinatubo (1991) in the Philippines have erupted catastrophically, but with fewer deaths. (Full article...)

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A pair of Tricams: on the right, a nylon size 2.0, and on the left, a Dyneema size 1.5.

A tricam is a type of climbing protection equipment. A versatile nut/cam hybrid, the Tricam was invented by Greg Lowe in 1973, and came to market in 1981. They are currently manufactured by C.A.M.P. of Premana Italy. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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