Portal:Mountains
Portal:Mountains
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Introduction
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...)
Selected mountain-related landform
A drumlin, from the Irish word droimnín ("little ridge"), first recorded in 1833, in the classical sense is an elongated hill in the shape of an inverted spoon or half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine. Assemblages of drumlins are referred to as fields or swarms; they can create a landscape which is often described as having a 'basket of eggs topography'. (Full article...)
Selected mountain range
The Lepontine Alps (German: Lepontinische Alpen, French: Alpes lépontines, Italian: Alpi Lepontine) are a mountain range in the north-western part of the Alps. They are located in Switzerland (Valais, Ticino, Uri and Graubünden) and Italy (Piedmont and Lombardy).
The Simplon rail tunnel (from Brig to Domodossola), the Gotthard rail (from Erstfeld to Bodio) and Gotthard road tunnels (from Andermatt to Airolo) and the San Bernardino road tunnel are important transport arteries. (Full article...)
Selected mountain type
In volcanology, a lava dome is a circular, mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano. Dome-building eruptions are common, particularly in convergent plate boundary settings. Around 6% of eruptions on Earth are lava dome forming. The geochemistry of lava domes can vary from basalt (e.g. Semeru, 1946) to rhyolite (e.g. Chaiten, 2010) although the majority are of intermediate composition (such as Santiaguito, dacite-andesite, present day) The characteristic dome shape is attributed to high viscosity that prevents the lava from flowing very far. This high viscosity can be obtained in two ways: by high levels of silica in the magma, or by degassing of fluid magma. Since viscous basaltic and andesitic domes weather fast and easily break apart by further input of fluid lava, most of the preserved domes have high silica content and consist of rhyolite or dacite.
Existence of lava domes has been suggested for some domed structures on the Moon, Venus, and Mars, e.g. the Martian surface in the western part of Arcadia Planitia and within Terra Sirenum. (Full article...)
Selected climbing article
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than 25.6 cm (10.1 in) in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In common usage, a boulder is too large for a person to move. Smaller boulders are usually just called rocks or stones. The word boulder derives from boulder stone, from Middle English bulderston or Swedish bullersten.
In places covered by ice sheets during ice ages, such as Scandinavia, northern North America, and Siberia, glacial erratics are common. Erratics are boulders picked up by ice sheets during their advance, and deposited when they melt. These boulders are called "erratic" because they typically are of a different rock type than the bedrock on which they are deposited. One such boulder is used as the pedestal of the Bronze Horseman in Saint Petersburg, Russia. (Full article...)
Related portals
General images
- Image 3Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
- Image 4The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
- Image 7British 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 8Everest 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 11This 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 14Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
- Image 16A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
- Image 22A mountain rescue team in Iran moving a casualty. (from Mountain rescue)
- Image 24Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
- Image 25Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
- Image 26Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
- Image 31Mountain rescue team members and other services attend to a casualty in Freiburg Germany. (from Mountain rescue)
- Image 33Mountain climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
- Image 34The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
- Image 35The 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 40A climber taking the final few steps to the 6,160 m (20,210 ft) summit of Imja Tse (Island Peak) in Nepal, 2004 (from Mountaineering)
Selected skiing article
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the final score. Ski jumping was first contested in Norway in the late 19th century, and later spread through Europe and North America in the early 20th century. Along with cross-country skiing, it constitutes the traditional group of Nordic skiing disciplines.
The ski jumping venue, commonly referred to as a hill, consists of the jumping ramp (in-run), take-off table, and a landing hill. Each jump is evaluated according to the distance traveled and the style performed. The distance score is related to the construction point (also known as the K-point), which is a line drawn in the landing area and serves as a "target" for the competitors to reach. (Full article...)
Subcategories
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Topics
- Africa: Atlas • Kilimanjaro • Mount Kenya massif • Ruwenzori Mountains
- America: Andes • Appalachians • Cascades • Cordilleras • Rockies • Sierra Nevada
- Antarctica: Sentinel Range
- Asia: Altai • Himalaya • Hindu Kush • Caucasus • Karakoram • Pamir
- Australia and Oceania: Maoke Mountains • New Zealand Alps • Snowy Mountains
- Europe: Alps • Ardennes • Balkans • Highlands • Jura • Carpathians • Pyrenees • Scandinavian Mountains • Urals • Vosges
- Alps: Piz Badile • Mont Blanc • Petit Dru • Dufourspitze • Eiger • Großglockner • Grandes Jorasses • Jungfrau • Königspitze • Matterhorn • Mönch • Ortler • Watzmann • Drei Zinnen • Zugspitze
- Andes: Aconcagua • Alpamayo • Chimborazo • Cotopaxi • Fitz Roy • Nevado Huascarán • Illimani • Sajama • Ojos del Salado • Siula Grande • Cerro Torre • Yerupaja
- Himalayas: Eight-thousanders – Mount Everest • K2 • Kangchenjunga • Lhotse • Makalu • Cho Oyu • Dhaulagiri • Manaslu • Nanga Parbat • Annapurna I • Hidden Peak • Broad Peak • Gasherbrum II • Shishapangma – Other – Ama Dablam • Chogolisa • Masherbrum • Shivling
- Rocky Mountains: Mount Chephren • Mount Elbert • Mount Logan • Denali • Mount Robson
- Volcanos: Etna • Eldfell • Hohentwiel • Mauna Kea • Pinatubo • Puʻu ʻŌʻō • Mount St. Helens • Stromboli • Mount Unzen
Flora and fauna
- Plants: Alpine Rock-Jasmine • Hairy Alpenrose • Edelweiss • Great Yellow Gentian • Glacier Crowfoot • Wulfenia • Dwarf Willow • Queen of the Andes • Arolla Pine
- Animals: Red-billed Chough • Alpine marmot • Alpine Salamander • Rock Ptarmigan • Alpine Ibex • Andean Condor • Bearded Vulture • Alpine Chough • Chamois • Mountain Burnet • European Viper • Himalayan Tahr • Wallcreeper • White-winged Snowfinch • Golden Eagle • Northern Bald Ibis • Yak
- Equipment: Ascenders • Belay devices • Carabiners • Maillons • Harnesses • Hexes • Nuts • Quickdraws • Ropes • Shoes • SLCDs • Slings • Tricams
- Techniques: Abseiling • Redpointing • Anchor • Mantle • Top roping • Climbing grade • Climbing route
- Types of climbing: Big wall climbing • Bouldering • Competition climbing • Free climbing • Ice climbing • Mountain climbing • Rock climbing • Schrofen • Sport climbing
- Klettersteigs: Mannlgrat
- Climbers: Kurt Albert • Pierre Allain •John Bachar • Henry Barber • Catherine Destivelle • Patrick Edlinger • John Gill • Stefan Glowacz • Wolfgang Güllich • Lynn Hill • Alex Honnold • Alexander Huber • John Long • Jeff Lowe • Magnus Midtbø • Adam Ondra • Dean Potter • Alain Robert • Chris Sharma • Todd Skinner • Ueli Steck • Other climbers
- Mountaineering: Alpine Clubs • Boots • Crampons • Ice axes • Mountain huts • Mountain rescue • Ropes • Rucksacks
- Pioneers: Christian Almer • Melchior Anderegg • Hermann von Barth • Walter Bonatti • Meta Brevoort • William Martin Conway • Angelo Dibona • Hans Dülfer • Paul Grohmann • Adolphus Warburton Moore • Paul Preuss • Ludwig Purtscheller • Schlagintweit brothers • Leslie Stephen • Gottlieb Samuel Studer • Tenzig Norgay • Herbert Tichy • Lucy Walker • Edward Whymper • Georg Winkler • Matthias Zurbriggen
- High-altitude mountaineers: Chris Bonington • Hermann Buhl • Kurt Diemberger • Ralf Dujmovits • Günther Dyhrenfurth • Maurice Herzog • Sir Edmund Hillary • Sandy Irvine • Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner • George Mallory • Nives Meroi • Reinhold Messner • Simone Moro • Oh Eun-sun • Edurne Pasaban • Wanda Rutkiewicz • Lionel Terray • Um Hong-Gil • Stephen Venables • Ed Viesturs • Other mountaineers
- Publicists: Karl Blodig • W. A. B. Coolidge • David Breashears • Jon Krakauer • Gaston Rébuffat
- Alps: Eiger climbing history • Exploration of the High Alps • Golden age of alpinism • Silver age of alpinism • Timeline of climbing the Matterhorn
- Himalayas: 1922 British Mount Everest expedition • 1924 British Mount Everest expedition • 1953 British Mount Everest expedition • 1986 K2 disaster • 1996 Mount Everest disaster • 2008 K2 disaster • Timeline of climbing Mount Everest
- Museums: Alpine Club Museum • Messner Mountain Museum
Lists of mountains
Recognized content
- Featured content
- Good content
- Amak Volcano
- Ben Nevis
- Gerlachovský štít
- Glacier Peak
- Hualālai
- Huangshan
- Kohala (mountain)
- Mont Aiguille
- Mont Blanc massif
- Montpelier Hill
- Mount Adams (Washington)
- Mount Bailey (Oregon)
- Mount Baker
- Mount Cleveland (Alaska)
- Mount Edziza volcanic complex
- Mount Elbert
- Mount Garibaldi
- Mount Hood
- Mount Kenya
- Mount Rainier
- Mount Redoubt
- Mount Tehama
- Mount Thielsen
- Mount Vesuvius
- Pinkham Notch
- Roxy Ann Peak
- Silverthrone Caldera
- Snowdon
- Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field
- Wilkins Peak
- Yamsay Mountain
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