Portal:Mountains

Portal

WikiProject

Discussion

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). (Full article...)

Show new selections below (purge)

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...)

More mountain landforms

Selected mountain range

Cima Viola and Corno di Dosdè

The Livigno Alps are a mountain range in the Alps of eastern Switzerland and northern Italy, around the Italian village Livigno. They are considered to be part of the Central Eastern Alps.

The Livigno Alps are separated from the Bernina Range in the south-west by the Bernina Pass; from the Albula Alps in the north-west by the Upper Engadin valley; from the Sesvenna Alps in the north-east by the Spöl valley; from the Ortler Alps in the east by the Passo di Fraéle and the upper Adda River valley (Valtellina). (Full article...)

More mountain ranges

Selected mountain type

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...)

More mountain types

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...)

More climbing articles

edit

Related portals

General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Ski Cross competitors navigating a jump during January 2010 World Cup competitions in Les Contamines-Montjoie, France

Ski cross is a skiing competition which incorporates terrain features traditionally found in freestyle skiing with courses which include big-air jumps and high-banked turns. In spite of the fact that it is a timed racing event, it is often considered a type of freestyle skiing. What sets ski cross apart from other alpine skiing disciplines is that it involves more than one skier racing down the course. Any intentional contact with other competitors like grabbing or any other forms of contact meant to give the competitor an advantage leads to disqualification.

Ski cross is a part of the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships, the world championship organized by the FIS for freestyle skiing. First organized in 1986, the world championship is now held every odd year. In 2010 the sport debuted as a part of the Winter Olympic Games and has been contested ever since. It was a part of the Winter X Games until 2012. (Full article...)

More skiing articles