Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Appalachian Mountains

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

An inselberg or monadnock (/məˈnædnɒk/ mə-NAD-nok) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an Afrikaans word ("little head") from the Dutch diminutive word kopje. If the inselberg is dome-shaped and formed from granite or gneiss, it can also be called a bornhardt, though not all bornhardts are inselbergs. An inselberg results when a body of rock resistant to erosion, such as granite, occurring within a body of softer rocks, is exposed by differential erosion and lowering of the surrounding landscape. (Full article...)

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The Prince of Wales Range is marked 10 on map.

The Prince of Wales Range is a small mountain range on the east central coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, located about 40 km (25 mi) north of Campbell River. It has an area of 188 km² and is a subrange of the Vancouver Island Ranges which in turn form part of the Insular Mountains. (Full article...)

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A Mittelgebirge (pronounced [ˈmɪtl̩ɡəˌbɪʁɡə] ^ⓘ; German: Mittel, "middle or mid"; Gebirge, "mountains or mountainous area") is a type of relatively low mountain range or highland area typical of the geography of central Europe, especially central and southern Germany; it refers to something between rolling low hill country or Hügelland and a proper mountain range (German: Gebirge or Hochgebirge) like the High Alps. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

In rock climbing, a copperhead is a small nut with a head made of soft metal on a loop of wire, originally copper or brass, later aluminium. Copperheads are most often placed into small shallow seams and crevices by pounding or hammering them in to place, with a climbing hammer, sometimes with the aid of metal rod, chisel, or punch. The malleability of the soft metal head makes copperheads conform to the rock and grip better than other devices, and are often the only protection that will stay fixed in many placements. Their small size and low strength makes them among the poorest kinds of protection; their main use is in aid climbing where a placement that will just support the weight of the climber can be used to make progress, even though it would be useless in a fall. Variations such as Double-heads and Circleheads can also be used. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 2Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 3The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 4Mont Blanc in Aosta Valley, Italy, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 5The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 6Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 7Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 8The 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 9The 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 10Everest 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 11Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 12Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 13Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 14An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 15Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 16Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 17Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 18Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 19The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 20Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 21Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 22Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 23Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 24Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 25British 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 26Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 27Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 28This 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 29Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 30A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 31Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 32The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)
Image 33Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 34Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 35Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 36Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 37Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 38Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 39A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 40Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 41Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 42Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)

Selected skiing article

A ski film is a motion picture with sequences of expedition, recreation, competition, or acrobatic exhibition on snow skis. These non-fiction action sport films capture the experience of an athletic outdoor snow sporting culture. Ski films typically present one or more techniques (ski jumping, cross-country, downhill, freestyle), locations, or skiers (expert, celebrity or novice). Categories include the feature, documentary of competition or other event coverage (such as a snow festival or sportscast), instruction or technique demonstration, retrospective history, travel guide showcasing a region, or a short subject (such as a web series or included in a newsreel). More than 200 such videos debuted in 2006. Notable examples are listed at the Ski and Snowboard Film Institute, or have received awards from the International Ski Film Festival, X-Dance Action Sports Film Festival, IF3 International Freeski Film Festival, Newschoolers magazine, Cold Smoke Winter Film, Powder magazine, or similar. (Full article...)