Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Silvretta panorama from the Ochsenkopf

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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Miller's Cove in Tennessee is an example of a typical Appalachian cove, an enclosed valley in the mountains.

In the central and southern Appalachian Mountains of Eastern North America, a cove is a small valley between two ridge lines that is closed at one or both ends.

Among the places where the word "cove" appears in the name of an Appalachian valley are Morrison Cove in Pennsylvania; Lost Cove, North Carolina; Bumpass Cove, Tennessee; Doran Cove, Grassy Cove, Ladd Cove, in or adjacent to the Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee and Alabama; and numerous locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, including Cades Cove, Greenbrier Cove, Miller Cove, Tuckaleechee Cove, and Wears Cove. Burke's Garden in western Virginia is another example of a cove. (Full article...)

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The Hochgall (3,436m), the highest mountain of the group

The Rieserferner Group (Italian: Gruppo delle Vedrette di Ries, German: Rieserfernergruppe) is a mountain range in the Austrian Central Alps. Together with the Ankogel Group, Goldberg Group, Glockner Group, Schober Group, Kreuzeck Group, Granatspitze Group, Venediger Group and the Villgraten Mountains the group is part of the High Tauern. The Rieserferner mountains extend across the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian province of South Tyrol (Trentino-South Tyrol region). The mountains mainly lie in South Tyrol, where the greater part is protected within the Rieserferner-Ahrn Nature Park.

The Rieserferner Group forms the southwesternmost part of the High Tauern, its foothills running towards the southwest as far as Bruneck in the Puster Valley. Its name is derived from the Rieserferner, a glacier on the northern flank between the Hochgall (highest summit in the range at 3,436 m s.l.m.) and the Schneebiger Nock (3,358 m s.l.m.). (Full article...)

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An aerial view of the Gros Piton and Petit Piton, in St. Lucia, 2006.

A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an explosive eruption. In a plinian eruption the plug is destroyed and ash is ejected.

Glacial erosion can lead to exposure of the plug on one side, while a long slope of material remains on the opposite side. Such landforms are called crag and tail. If a plug is preserved, erosion may remove the surrounding rock while the erosion-resistant plug remains, producing a distinctive upstanding landform. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Lead climbing (or leading) is a technique in rock climbing where the 'lead climber' clips their rope to the climbing protection as they ascend a pitch of the climbing route, while their 'second' (or 'belayer') remains at the base of the route belaying the rope to protect the 'lead climber' in the event that they fall. The term is used to distinguish between the two roles, and the greater effort and increased risk, of the role of the 'lead climber'.

Leading a climb is in contrast with top roping a climb, where even though there is still a 'second' belaying the rope, the 'lead climber' faces little or no risk in the event of a fall and does not need to clip into any protection as the rope is already anchored to the top of the route (i.e. if they fall off, they just hang from the rope). Leading a climbing route is a core activity in rock climbing, and most first ascents and first free ascents are from leading. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

The Worldloppet Ski Federation is an international federation of long distance cross-country skiing events whose aim is to promote cross-country skiing through ski races. The federation was founded on 10 June 1978 in Uppsala, Sweden. (Full article...)

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