Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Silvretta panorama from the Ochsenkopf

Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain

A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. A mountain differs from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is larger than a hill, typically rising at least 300 metres (1000 feet) 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

Side valleys and tributary valleys are valleys whose brooks or rivers flow into greater ones.

Upstream, the valleys can be classified in an increasing order which is equivalent to the usual orographic order: the tributaries are ordered from those nearest to the source of the river to those nearest to the mouth of the river. A confluence is where two or more tributaries or rivers flow together. (Full article...)

Selected mountain range

The Cordillera Oriental (English: Eastern Ranges) is the widest of the three branches of the Colombian Andes. The range extends from south to north dividing from the Colombian Massif in Huila Department to Norte de Santander Department where it splits into the Serranía del Perijá and the Cordillera de Mérida in Venezuelan Andes. The highest peak is Ritacuba Blanco at 5,410 m (17,750 ft) in the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy. (Full article...)

Selected mountain type

Starr Nunatak, on the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica

A nunatak (from Inuit nunataq) is the summit or ridge of a mountain that protrudes from an ice field or glacier that otherwise covers most of the mountain or ridge. They are also called glacial islands. Examples are natural pyramidal peaks. When rounded by glacial action, smaller rock promontories may be referred to as rognons.

The word is of Greenlandic origin and has been used in English since the 1870s. (Full article...)

Selected climbing article

A powder snow avalanche in the Himalayas near Mount Everest.

An avalanche (also called a snow slide) is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.

Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snow pack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and earthquakes. Primarily composed of flowing snow and air, large avalanches have the capability to capture and move ice, rocks, and trees. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 2Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 3Mountain rescue team members and other services attend to a casualty in Freiburg Germany. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 4A mountain rescue team in Iran moving a casualty. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 5Mount Ararat in Turkey, as seen from Khor Virap, Armenia (from Mountain)
Image 6Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 7Weisshorn (4,506 m), Alps: 3,000 m (from Snow line)
Image 8Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 9A combination of high latitude and high altitude makes the northern Urals in picture to have climatic conditions that make the ground barren. (from Mountain)
Image 10Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 11Mountaineers, circa 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 12Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 13Cotopaxi (5,897 m), Andes: 5,000 m (from Snow line)
Image 14Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 15Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 16The Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space (from Mountain range)
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 19Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 20This 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 21Peaks of Mount Kenya (from Mountain)
Image 22Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 23Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrusted (from Mountain)
Image 24The Andes, the world's longest mountain range on the surface of the Earth, have a dramatic impact on the climate of South America (from Mountain range)
Image 25Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 26A climber taking the final few steps onto the 6,160 m (20,210 ft) summit of Imja Tse (Island Peak) in Nepal, 2004 (from Mountaineering)
Image 27Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russia and Europe (from Mountain)
Image 28Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 29Mount Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea (from Mountain)
Image 30Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 31Cho Oyu (8,201 m), Himalayas: 6,000 m (from Snow line)
Image 32Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 33Climbers ascending Mount Rainier (from Mountain)
Image 34Geological cross-section of Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 35Chimborazo, Ecuador. The point on Earth's surface farthest from its centre. (from Mountain)
Image 36Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 37The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 38Mountain climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 39Waimea Canyon, Hawaii is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 40The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)
Image 41Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 42A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 43Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 44Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 45Granite Park Chalet in Glacier National Park, US (from Mountaineering)
Image 46A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)

Selected skiing article

Telemark ski racer executing Telemark's unique lunging or "free heel" turn.

Telemark skiing is a skiing technique that combines elements of Alpine and Nordic skiing, using a squatting motion on downhill skis. Telemark skiing is named after the Telemark region of Norway, where the discipline originated. Sondre Norheim is often credited for first demonstrating the turn in ski races, which included cross country, slalom and jumping, in Norway around 1868. Sondre Norheim also experimented with ski and binding design, introducing side cuts to skis and heel bindings (like a cable). (Full article...)