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). The tallest mountain including submarine terrain is Mauna Kea in Hawaii from its underwater base at 9,330 m (30,610 ft) and some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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Selected mountain-related landform

Miller's Cove in Tennessee is an example of a typical Appalachian cove, an enclosed valley in the mountains.

In the central and southern Appalachian Mountains of Eastern North America, a cove is a small valley between two ridge lines that is closed at one or both ends.

Among the places where the word "cove" appears in the name of an Appalachian valley are Morrison Cove in Pennsylvania; Lost Cove, North Carolina; Bumpass Cove, Tennessee; Doran Cove, Grassy Cove, Ladd Cove, in or adjacent to the Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee and Alabama; and numerous locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, including Cades Cove, Greenbrier Cove, Miller Cove, Tuckaleechee Cove, and Wears Cove. Burke's Garden in western Virginia is another example of a cove. (Full article...)

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Aroser Weisshorn (2,653m/8,704ft)

The Plessur Alps are a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland. They are considered to be part of the Western Rhaetian Alps. They are named after the river Plessur, which originates from the center of the ranges. The Plessur Alps are separated from the Glarus Alps in the west by the Rhine valley; from the Rätikon range in the north by the Landquart river valley (Prättigau); from the Albula Alps in the south-east by the Landwasser river valley; from the Oberhalbstein Alps in the south by the Albula river valley.

The Plessur Alps are drained by the rivers Rhine, Plessur, Landwasser and Landquart. The ski resort Arosa lies in the middle of the range. (Full article...)

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A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano or a volcanic complex, is a mixed landform consisting of related volcanic centers and their associated lava flows and pyroclastic rock. They may form due to changes in eruptive habit or in the location of the principal vent area on a particular volcano. Stratovolcanoes can also form a large caldera that gets filled in by a lava dome, or else multiple small cinder cones, lava domes and craters may develop on the caldera's rim.

Although a comparatively unusual type of volcano, they are widespread in the world and in geologic history. Metamorphosed ash flow tuffs are widespread in the Precambrian rocks of northern New Mexico, which indicates that caldera complexes have been important for much of Earth's history. Yellowstone National Park is on three partly covered caldera complexes. The Long Valley Caldera in eastern California is also a complex volcano; the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado are formed on a group of Neogene-age caldera complexes, and most of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks of Nevada, Idaho, and eastern California are also caldera complexes and their erupted ash flow tuffs. The Bennett Lake Caldera in British Columbia and the Yukon Territory is another example of a Cenozoic (Eocene) caldera complex. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Beta is a climbing term that designates information about how to ascend a climbing route, and the specific climbing techniques required—and how to apply them—to overcome the key challenges encountered. Traditionally sourced in climbing guidebooks, online databases and apps now provide detailed climbing beta. The term is attributed to Texan climber Jack Mileski.

When a climber completes a route on their first attempt and without falling, it is called an onsight if they had no beta, or a flash if they had beta (a completion after several failed attempts is called a redpoint). New grade milestones in the on-sighting and flashing of routes are actively followed in the climbing media. The discovery of new beta has led to the re-grading of notable and historic climbing routes. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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...)

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