Portal:Mountains

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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

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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The Smoky Mountains viewed from atop Mount Le Conte in Sevier County, Tennessee, in April 2007

The Great Smoky Mountains (Cherokee: ᎡᏆ ᏚᏧᏍᏚ ᏙᏓᎸ, Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv) are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains, and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. The Smokies are best known as the home of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which protects most of the range. The park was established in 1934 and, with over 11 million visits per year, is the most visited national park in the United States.

The Smokies are part of an International Biosphere Reserve. The range is home to an estimated 187,000 acres (76,000 ha) of old-growth forest, constituting the largest such stand east of the Mississippi River. The coves hardwood forests in the range's lower elevations are among the most diverse ecosystems in North America, and the Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest that covers the upper elevations is the largest of its kind. The Smokies are home to the densest black bear population in the Eastern United States and the most diverse salamander population outside of the tropics. (Full article...)

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Belki (Russian: белки; Khakas: Taskhyl), also known as Belogorye (Russian: белогорье), is a type of mountain summit in Southern Siberia. (Full article...)

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Peak bagging or hill bagging is an activity in which hikers, climbers, and mountaineers attempt to reach a collection of summits, published in the form of a list. This activity has been popularized around the world, with lists such as 100 Peaks of Taiwan, four-thousand footers, 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, the Sacred Mountains of China, the Seven Summits, the Fourteeners of Colorado, and the eight-thousanders becoming the subject of mass public interest.

There are numerous lists that a peakbagger may choose to follow. A list usually contains a set of peaks confined to a geographical area, with the peaks having some sort of subjective popularity or objective significance, such as being among the highest or most prominent of the area. Some maps and lists may be inaccurate, however, which has implications for climbers and peak-baggers who rely on publicly reported data. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Ski sickness or Häusler's disease is a form of motion sickness which some skiers develop when weather conditions are bad. Poor visibility in heavy fog can bring on the condition as well as psychological factors such as fear of heights or fear of mountains. High speed and falling may also contribute as when descending rapidly atmospheric pressure changes in the ear from high to low altitude. Symptoms are similar to other sicknesses brought about by motion and include: dizziness, headaches and nausea and in more extreme cases vomiting.

In whiteout conditions, the brain is unable to determine orientation or movement accurately. The condition is caused by the rhythmic turning motion of skiing and other effects such as a reduction in sensory feedback from constrained feet. In 1995 Rudolf Häusler of the University of Berne was the first described to have this disease. Ski sickness could affect up to 10% of skiers. Professor Häusler found that over-the-counter prescription medicines for motion sickness relieved the symptoms for most affected people. (Full article...)

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