Portal:Mountains

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Appalachian Mountains

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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Two cirques with semi-permanent snowpatches near Abisko National Park, Sweden

A cirque (French: [siʁk]; from the Latin word circus) is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic: coire, meaning a pot or cauldron) and cwm (Welsh for 'valley'; pronounced [kʊm]). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform arising from fluvial erosion.

The concave shape of a glacial cirque is open on the downhill side, while the cupped section is generally steep. Cliff-like slopes, down which ice and glaciated debris combine and converge, form the three or more higher sides. The floor of the cirque ends up bowl-shaped, as it is the complex convergence zone of combining ice flows from multiple directions and their accompanying rock burdens. Hence, it experiences somewhat greater erosion forces and is most often overdeepened below the level of the cirque's low-side outlet (stage) and its down-slope (backstage) valley. If the cirque is subject to seasonal melting, the floor of the cirque most often forms a tarn (small lake) behind a dam, which marks the downstream limit of the glacial overdeepening. The dam itself can be composed of moraine, glacial till, or a lip of the underlying bedrock. (Full article...)

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Satellite view of the Alps

The Alps (/ælps/) are one of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately 1,200 km (750 mi) across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.

The Alpine arch extends from Nice on the western Mediterranean to Trieste on the Adriatic and Vienna at the beginning of the Pannonian Basin. The mountains were formed over tens of millions of years as the African and Eurasian tectonic plates collided. Extreme shortening caused by the event resulted in marine sedimentary rocks rising by thrusting and folding into high mountain peaks such as Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. (Full article...)

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A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as either cinders, clinkers, or scoria around the vent to form a cone that often is symmetrical; with slopes between 30 and 40°; and a nearly circular ground plan. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

In climbing and mountaineering, belaying comprises techniques used to create friction within a climbing protection system, particularly on a climbing rope, so that a falling climber does not fall very far. A climbing partner typically applies tension at the other end of the rope whenever the climber is not moving, and removes the tension from the rope whenever the climber needs more rope to continue climbing. The belay is the place where the belayer is anchored, which is typically on the ground, or on ledge (where it is also called a belay station) but may also be a hanging belay where the belayer themself is suspended from an anchor in the rock on a multi-pitch climb. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Ski ballet is a form of ballet performed on skis. It is very similar to figure skating, combining spins, jumps, and flips in a two-minute routine choreographed to music. It was part of the professional freestyle skiing tours of the 1970s and 1980s and then an official FIS and Olympic discipline until the year 2000. Ski ballet became known as Acroski in the 1990s in an effort to legitimize its place among the competitive ski community, especially to the FIS. It is no longer a part of competitive freestyle skiing. (Full article...)

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