Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

View of the south side of the Santa Catalina Mountains as seen from Tucson, Arizona.

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...)

Selected mountain-related landform

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...)

Selected mountain range

Aerial view of the Verkhoyansk Mountains

The Verkhoyansk Range (Russian: Верхоянский хребет, Verhojanskiy Hrebet; Yakut: Үөһээ Дьааҥы сис хайата, romanized: Üöhê Câñı sis xayata) is a mountain range in the Sakha Republic, Russia near the settlement of Verkhoyansk, well-known for its frigid climate. It is part of the East Siberian Mountains.

The range lies just west of the boundary of the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates. The mountains were formed by folding, and represent an anticline. (Full article...)

Selected mountain type

In glaciology, a roche moutonnée (or sheepback) is a rock formation created by the passing of a glacier. The passage of glacial ice over underlying bedrock often results in asymmetric erosional forms as a result of abrasion on the "stoss" (upstream) side of the rock, and plucking (i.e. pieces cracked off) on the "lee" (downstream) side. Some geologists limit the term to features on scales of a metre to several hundred metres and refer to larger features as crag and tail, though they are formed in essentially the same way. (Full article...)

Selected climbing article

Climbing is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of Urban Climber Magazine. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine times a year. Climbing was purchased by Outside in 2021. (Full article...)

Related portals

General images

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

Image 1The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 2Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 3Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 4Mont Blanc on the border between Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 5Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 6Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 7A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 8Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 9Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 10Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 11A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 12Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 13Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 14British 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 15The 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 16An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 17The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 18The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 19Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 20Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 21Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 22Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 23Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 24Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 25Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 26Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 27Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 28Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 29Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 30Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 31Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 32Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 33Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 34K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, is revered for its isolation, difficulty, and the profound sense of awe it inspires among climbers. Many alpinists describe ascents of peaks like K2 as deeply spiritual experiences, combining physical challenge with introspection and transcendence. (from Mountaineering)
Image 35Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 36The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 37Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 38Everest 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 39Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 40Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 41This 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 42Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 43The 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 44Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)

Selected skiing article

Climbing skins are strips that attach to the bottom of Nordic, alpine touring or randonnée skis to help while ascending backcountry slopes. They are designed to be removed for skiing downhill. They are typically attached to the skis via a loop on the ski tip, a hook on the tail, and adhesive on the base of the skin. They are called skins because they resemble sealskin, from which the first ski skins were made. They are typically made from nylon or mohair or a combination thereof, and are designed to let the ski slide forward on snow but not backward. They are usually narrower than the ski to allow the ski edges to get a grip. Some ski resorts permit skinning. (Full article...)