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

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Selected mountain-related landform

An arête (/əˈrɛt/ ə-RET; French: [aʁɛt]) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequently this results in a saddle-shaped pass, called a col. The edge is then sharpened by freeze-thaw weathering, and the slope on either side of the arête steepened through mass wasting events and the erosion of exposed, unstable rock. The word arête (French: [aʁɛt]) is actually French for "edge" or "ridge"; similar features in the Alps are often described with the German equivalent term Grat.

Where three or more cirques meet, a pyramidal peak is created. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

A section of the Anti-Atlas near Tafraout. The peak in the background is Djebel el Kest.

The Anti-Atlas, also known as Lesser Atlas or Little Atlas, is a mountain range in Morocco, a part of the Atlas Mountains in the northwest of Africa. The Anti-Atlas extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest toward the northeast, to the heights of Ouarzazate and further east to the city of Tafilalt, altogether a distance of approximately 500 km. The range borders on the Sahara to the south.

In some contexts, the Anti-Atlas is considered separate from the Atlas Mountains system, as the prefix "anti" (i.e. opposite) implies. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain type

An arête (/əˈrɛt/ ə-RET; French: [aʁɛt]) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequently this results in a saddle-shaped pass, called a col. The edge is then sharpened by freeze-thaw weathering, and the slope on either side of the arête steepened through mass wasting events and the erosion of exposed, unstable rock. The word arête (French: [aʁɛt]) is actually French for "edge" or "ridge"; similar features in the Alps are often described with the German equivalent term Grat.

Where three or more cirques meet, a pyramidal peak is created. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Lead climber on the bolted sport climbing route Gezurren Erresuma 8c (5.14b), in Spain.

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). (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Main Street in Hayward, Wisconsin, July 2012

The American Birkebeiner, or Birkie, is the largest cross-country skiing race in North America. It debuted in 1973 and is a founding member of the Worldloppet federation of cross-country ski marathons. The Birkie's two premier events are the 50 km (31 mi) skate and the 55 km (34 mi) classic races between the towns of Cable and Hayward in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Each year more than 10,000 skiers participate in the Birkie, including the full-distances races, a 29 km (18 mi) Kortelopet race, and a 15 km (9.3 mi) Prince Haakon race. (Full article...)