Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

View of the south side of the Santa Catalina Mountains as seen from Tucson, Arizona.

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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Selected mountain-related landform

In geology, a proglacial lake is a lake formed either by the damming action of a moraine during the retreat of a melting glacier, a glacial ice dam, or by meltwater trapped against an ice sheet due to isostatic depression of the crust around the ice. At the end of the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, large proglacial lakes were a widespread feature in the northern hemisphere. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

Looking south with Mount Lewis centered and Bens Peak to the left

The Shoshone Range is a mountain range in Lander County, Nevada. The northeast end of the range extends into Eureka County at Shoshone Point on the Humboldt River.

The range was named from the Shoshoni language meaning "grass". (Full article...)

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Tower karst are tall rock structures made up of soluble rock such as limestone. Tower karst forms as near-vertical joints and fractures are eroded downward by solution, leaving parts of a previously coherent rock mass isolated from each other. Tower karst is most common in tropical regions, although it may form in other climates as well.

Examples include Khao Phing Kan, also known as James Bond Island, in Thailand, and Cat Ba Island in Vietnam. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Rio Fitz Roy

In climbing, a Tyrolean traverse is a technique that enables climbers to cross a void between two fixed points, such as between a headland and a detached rock pillar (e.g. a sea stack), or between two points that enable the climbers to cross over an obstacle such as chasm or ravine, or over a fast moving river. Originally developed by Tyrolean mountaineers in the Dolomites in the late 19th to early 20th century, Tyrolean traverses are used in other areas including in caving and in mountain rescue situations.

With a traverse-rope fixed between two anchor points — ideally under some tension — the climber attaches to the rope using a short quickdraw (or equivalent alternative) that is attached to their harness. A backup attachment loop using carabiners and slings is also recommended. Any backpacks are separately clipped to the rope and also clipped to the climber, so they can be dragged across. The climber lies horizontal to the rope with their head facing the direction of travel and moves by pulling hand-over-hand on the rope. Devices such as ascenders can help pull along the rope, pulleys can help reduce friction, and progress capture devices (PCDs) can prevent slippage back along the rope. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Skiing in Lebanon has been a sport since an engineering student returning from studying in Switzerland brought back with him the sport of skiing to Lebanon in the early twentieth century. Lebanon is home to six developed ski resorts. Cedars Ski Resort Bsharri is the oldest and received its first ski lift. Mzaar Ski Resort, Kfardebian, is Lebanon's largest ski resort. (Full article...)

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