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). (Full article...)

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Selected mountain-related landform

A Rogen moraine (also called ribbed moraine) is a subglacially (i.e. under a glacier or ice sheet) formed type of moraine landform, that mainly occurs in Fennoscandia, Scotland, Ireland and Canada. It is one of the three main types of hummocky moraines. They cover large areas that have been covered by ice, and occur mostly in what is believed to have been the central areas of the ice sheets. Rogen moraines are named after Lake Rogen in Härjedalen, Sweden, the landform's type locality. Rogen Nature Reserve serves to protect the unusual area.

The landform occurs in groups that are often closely and regularly spaced. They consist of glacial drift, with till being the most common constituent. The individual moraines are large, wavy ridges orientated transverse to ice flow. Drumlins are often found in close proximity to Rogen moraines, and are often interpreted to be formed at the same time as the Rogen moraines. Although Rogen moraines can span a large range of sizes, the most common distribution seems to be 10–30 metres high, 150–300 metres wide and 300–1,200 metres long. (Full article...)

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Aerial view of the Beaver Lake Mountains from the south, August 2009

Beaver Lake Mountains is an 8-mile (13 km) long mountain in central and north Beaver County, Utah, United States adjacent the south border of Millard County.

The mountain is bordered on the east by the Beaver River, as it flows due-north past Milford and the small Milford Valley; the river leaves the southeast section of the Escalante Desert, but the Beaver River comes from the east, Beaver Valley and the south terminus of the Mineral Mountains-(Minersville Reservoir). (Full article...)

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Mount Rainier, a 4,392 m (14,411 ft) stratovolcano, the highest point in the US state of Washington

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and periodic intervals of explosive eruptions and effusive eruptions, although some have collapsed summit craters called calderas. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high to intermediate levels of silica (as in rhyolite, dacite, or andesite), with lesser amounts of less viscous mafic magma. Extensive felsic lava flows are uncommon, but have traveled as far as 15 km (9 mi).

Stratovolcanoes are sometimes called composite volcanoes because of their composite stratified structure, built up from sequential outpourings of erupted materials. They are among the most common types of volcanoes, in contrast to the less common shield volcanoes. Two examples of stratovolcanoes famous for catastrophic eruptions are Krakatoa in Indonesia, which erupted in 1883, and Vesuvius in Italy, having erupted in 79; both eruptions claimed thousands of lives. In modern times, Mount St. Helens in Washington State, US, and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines have erupted catastrophically, but with fewer deaths. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

East Mountain at Hueco Tanks

Hueco Tanks is an area of low mountains and historic site in El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. It is located in a high-altitude desert basin between the Franklin Mountains to the west and the Hueco Mountains to the east. Hueco is a Spanish word meaning hollows and refers to the many water-holding depressions in the boulders and rock faces throughout the region. Due to the unique concentration of historic artifacts, plants and wildlife, the site is under protection of Texas law; it is a crime to remove, alter, or destroy them.

The historic site is located approximately 32 miles (51 km) northeast of central El Paso, Texas, accessible via El Paso's Montana Avenue (U.S. Route 62/U.S. Route 180), by turning at RM 2775. The park consists of three syenite (a weak form of granite) mountains; it is 860 acres (350 ha) in area and is popular for recreation such as birdwatching and bouldering. It is culturally and spiritually significant to many Native Americans. This significance is partially manifested in the pictographs (rock paintings) that can be found throughout the region, many of which are thousands of years old. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-comfort aerial lifts, such as chairlifts and gondola lifts. Today, surface lifts are most often found on beginner slopes, small ski areas, and peripheral slopes. They are also often used to access glacier ski slopes because their supports can be anchored in glacier ice due to the lower forces and realigned due to glacier movement.

Surface lifts have some disadvantages compared to aerial lifts: they require more passenger skill and may be difficult for some beginners (especially snowboarders, whose boards point at an angle different than the direction of travel) and children; sometimes they lack a suitable route back to the piste; the snow surface must be continuous; they can get in the way of skiable terrain; they are relatively slow in speed and have lower capacity. (Full article...)

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