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). (Full article...)

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Selected mountain-related landform

New York's Finger Lakes. Lying south of Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes formed in tunnel valleys.

A tunnel valley is a U-shaped valley originally cut under the glacial ice near the margin of continental ice sheets such as that now covering Antarctica and formerly covering portions of all continents during past glacial ages. They can be as large as 100 km (62 mi), 4 km (2.5 mi) wide, and 400 m (1,300 ft) deep.

Tunnel valleys were formed by subglacial erosion by water and served as subglacial drainage pathways carrying large volumes of meltwater. Their cross-sections often exhibit steep-sided flanks similar to fjord walls. They presently appear as dry valleys, lakes, seabed depressions, and as areas filled with sediment. If they are filled with sediment, their lower layers are filled primarily with glacial, glaciofluvial or glaciolacustrine sediment, supplemented by upper layers of temperate infill. They can be found in areas formerly covered by glacial ice sheets including Africa, Asia, North America, Europe, Australia and offshore in the North Sea, the Atlantic and in waters near Antarctica. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain range

The Commonwealth Range () is a north-south trending range of rugged mountains, 60 nautical miles (110 km; 69 mi) long, located within the Queen Maud Mountains on the Dufek Coast of the continent of Antarctica. The range borders the eastern side of Beardmore Glacier from Keltie Glacier to the Ross Ice Shelf. The range is southeast of the Queen Alexandra Range, which is to the west of the Beardmore Glacier. It is west of the Hughes Range and north of the Supporters Range and the Barton Mountains. (Full article...)

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A monogenetic volcanic field is a type of volcanic field consisting of a group of small monogenetic volcanoes, each of which erupts only once, as opposed to polygenetic volcanoes, which erupt repeatedly over a period of time. The small monogenetic volcanoes of these fields are the most common subaerial volcanic landform.

Many monogenetic volcanoes are cinder cones, often with lava flows, such as Parícutin in the Michoacán-Guanajuato volcanic field, which erupted from 1943 to 1952. Some monogenetic volcanoes are small lava shields, such as Rangitoto Island in the Auckland volcanic field. Other monogenetic volcanoes are tuff rings or maars. A monogenetic field typically contains between ten and a hundred volcanoes. The Michoacán-Guanajuato field in Mexico contains more than a thousand volcanoes and is exceptionally large. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

50 mm (2 in) red, blue and black nylon webbing as used in auto racing harnesses

Webbing is a strong fabric woven as a flat strip or tube of varying width and fibres, often used in place of rope. It is a versatile component used in climbing, slacklining, furniture manufacturing, automobile safety, auto racing, towing, parachuting, military apparel, load securing, and many other fields.

It may be made of hemp, cotton or linen, but also synthetic fibers such as nylon, polypropylene or polyester. Webbing is also made from exceptionally high-strength material, such as Dyneema, and Kevlar. Webbing is both light and strong, with breaking strengths readily available in excess of 10,000 pounds-force (44 kilonewtons). (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Cross-country skiers in western Norway.

Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a means of travel. Variants of cross-country skiing are adapted to a range of terrain which spans unimproved, sometimes mountainous terrain to groomed courses that are specifically designed for the sport.

Modern cross-country skiing is similar to the original form of skiing, from which all skiing disciplines evolved, including alpine skiing, ski jumping and Telemark skiing. Skiers propel themselves either by striding forward (classic style) or side-to-side in a skating motion (skate skiing), aided by arms pushing on ski poles against the snow. It is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes, including Europe, Canada, Russia, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. (Full article...)