Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

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). 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

In physical geography, a fjord or fiord (/ˈfjɔːrd, fiːˈɔːrd/ ^ⓘ) is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Antarctica, the Arctic, and surrounded landmasses of the northern and southern hemispheres. Norway's coastline is estimated to be 29,000 km (18,000 mi) long with its nearly 1,200 fjords, but only 2,500 km (1,600 mi) long excluding the fjords. (Full article...)

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View of the Mournes from Murlough Nature Reserve

The Mourne Mountains (/mɔːrn/ MORN; Irish: Beanna Boirche), also called the Mournes or the Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in all of Ulster, the highest of which is Slieve Donard at 850 m (2,790 ft). The Mournes are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and it has been proposed to make the area Northern Ireland's first national park. The area is partly owned by the National Trust and sees many visitors every year. The Mourne Wall crosses fifteen of the summits and was built to enclose the catchment basin of the Silent Valley and Ben Crom reservoirs. The wall, and the area inside it, are owned by Northern Ireland Water. (Full article...)

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Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and size of the fragments ejected during the eruption. Types of volcanic cones include stratocones, spatter cones, tuff cones, and cinder cones. (Full article...)

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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...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Birkebeinerrennet 2010

Birkebeinerrennet (lit. The Birkebeiner race) is a long-distance cross-country ski marathon held annually in Norway. It debuted in 1932 and has been a part of Worldloppet since Worldloppet's inception in 1979.

The Birkebeinerrennet is one of three races held under the Birkebeiner moniker, the other two being Birkebeinerrittet (bicycling) and Birkebeinerløpet [no] (cross-country running). (Full article...)

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