Portal:Mountains

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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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A trim line marks the previous height of Tana Glacier in Alaska

A trim line, also written as trimline, is a clear line on the side of a valley formed by a glacier. The line marks the most recent highest extent of the glacier. The line may be visible due to changes in color to the rock or to changes in vegetation on either side of the line.

The term "trim line" is also used for similar looking phenomena caused by floods, volcanic activity, or tsunamis. (Full article...)

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The Kaikōura Ranges are two parallel ranges of mountains located in the northeast of the South Island of New Zealand. The two ranges are visible from a great distance, including from the southern coast of the North Island. (Full article...)

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A cordillera is a small chain and/or network system of mountain ranges, such as those in the west coast of the Americas. The term is borrowed from Spanish, where the word comes from cordilla, a diminutive of cuerda ('rope').

The term is most commonly used in physical geography and is particularly applied to the various large mountain systems of the American Cordillera, such as the Andes of South America, and less frequently to other mountain ranges in the "ridge" that rims the Pacific Ocean. In Colombia and Venezuela, cordilleras are named according to their position: Cordillera Occidental, Central, and Oriental. Various local names are used for the cordilleras in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

A climbing route (‹See Tfd›German: Kletterrouten) is a path by which a climber reaches the top of a mountain, or rock/ice-covered obstacle. The details of a climbing route are recorded in a climbing guidebook and/or in an online climbing route database, and will include elements such as the type of climbing route (e.g. bouldering route, sport climbing route, traditional climbing route, ice climbing route, and alpine climbing route, etc.), the difficulty grade of the route–and beta on its crux(es)–and any risk or commitment grade, the length and number of pitches of the route, and the climbing equipment (e.g. climbing protection gear) needed to complete the route.

There are definitions as to what is a valid ascent of a route (e.g. the redpoint in rock climbing), and the class of ascent (e.g. onsighted, flashed). The first ascent, first free ascent, and first female free ascent, are often recorded for important routes. After a route is established, variations can be created (e.g. directessimas, sit starts, or enchainments), and climbers will try to improve the "style" in which the route is climbed (e.g. minimizing aid climbing or other supports such as oxygen or fixed ropes). Some climbers limit the in-situ protection (e.g. greenpointing), or even free solo the route. Others set speed climbing records on routes. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A monoski is a single wide ski used for skiing on snow. The same boots, bindings, and poles are used as in alpine skiing. Unlike in snowboarding, both feet face forward, rather than sideways to the direction of travel. Similar equipment includes the skwal and the teleboard, with feet in tandem formation (one ahead of the other).

Monoskiing was invented in the late 1950s by Dennis Phillips at Hyak, Washington using a single water ski and bear trap bindings. Surfer Mike Doyle promoted the monoski in the early 1970s, after which monoskiing's relative popularity slowly increased, but the interest eventually waned in favor of snowboarding. (Full article...)

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