Portal:Mountains

Portal

WikiProject

Discussion

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. 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...)

Show new selections below (purge)

Selected mountain-related landform

Hill upon which the village of Saint-Paul-de-Vence is built, in Southern France

A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. (Full article...)

More mountain landforms

Selected mountain range

‹ The template Infobox file display is being considered for deletion. ›

The Douglas Ranges are a subrange of the Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains of the Canadian province of British Columbia, about 70 km (43 mi) east of downtown Vancouver, north of the Fraser River and between the valleys of Stave and Harrison Lakes. They are approximately 4,900 km² (1,900 sq mi) in area. Their highest peak is Mount Robertson 2,252 m (7,388 ft), at the northwest limit of the range.

The Douglas Ranges among the smallest and lowest of the major named subranges Coast Mountains, but in addition to being smallest and lowest they are also the southernmost part of the Coast Mountains and therefore also of the Pacific Ranges. The only thing more southerly than the Douglas Ranges, other than floodplain, is the unnamed hill-country that is most of Districts of Mission and part of Maple Ridge, from the Alouette River east across the upland to Hatzic Prairie. And in addition to being the most southerly and relatively lower than the rest of the Pacific Ranges, it is also among the wettest and, for being lowland country relative to the rest of its parent ranges, among the ruggedest. (Full article...)

More mountain ranges

Selected mountain type

Escarpment face of a cuesta broken by a fault; overlooking Trenton, Cloudland Canyon State Park, and Lookout Mountain, Georgia

A cuesta (from Spanish cuesta "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer layer, the whole being tilted somewhat from the horizontal. This results in a long and gentle backslope called a dip slope that conforms with the dip of resistant strata, called caprock. Where erosion has exposed the frontslope of this, a steep slope or escarpment occurs. The resulting terrain may be called scarpland. (Full article...)

More mountain types

Selected climbing article

‹ The template Infobox file display is being considered for deletion. ›

Lead climbing (or leading) is a technique in rock climbing where the lead climber clips their rope to the climbing protection as they ascend the climbing route, while their second (or belayer) remains at the base of the route belaying the rope to protect the lead climber in the event that they fall. The term is used to distinguish between the two roles, and the greater effort and increased risk, of the role of the lead climber.

Leading a climb is considered to be the opposite of top roping a climb, where even though there is still a second belaying the rope, the lead climber faces little or no risk in the event of a fall and does not need to clip into any protection as the rope is already anchored to the top of the route (i.e. if they fall off, they just hang from the rope). (Full article...)

More climbing articles

edit

Related portals

General images

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

Image 1Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 2Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest mountain in Europe (from Mountain)
Image 3Mountaineers, circa 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 4The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 5A 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 6Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 7Puncak Jaya in Indonesia, the highest mountain in Oceania (from Mountain)
Image 8The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 9Everest 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 10Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 11Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 12Mountain hikers on the mountain (from Mountaineering)
Image 13The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)
Image 14Mountain rescue team members and other services attend to a casualty in Freiburg Germany. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 15Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering. (from Mountaineering)
Image 16Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 17Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 18Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 19Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 20A mountain rescue team in Iran moving a casualty. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 21Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 22Mountain climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 23Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 24Granite Park Chalet in Glacier National Park, US (from Mountaineering)
Image 25Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 26Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 27A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 28Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 29The 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 30Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 31This 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 32Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 33Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 34Chimborazo, Ecuador. The point on Earth's surface farthest from its centre. (from Mountain)
Image 35The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 36Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 37A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 38Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 39An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 40The Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space (from Mountain range)
Image 41Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 42Fuji volcano (from Mountain)