Portal:Mountains

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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). The tallest mountain including submarine terrain is Mauna Kea in Hawaii from its underwater base at 9,330 m (30,610 ft); some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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A glacier (US: /ˈɡleɪʃər/; UK: /ˈɡlæsiə/ or /ˈɡleɪsiə/) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as crevasses and seracs, as it slowly flows and deforms under stresses induced by its weight. As it moves, it abrades rock and debris from its substrate to create landforms such as cirques, moraines, or fjords. Although a glacier may flow into a body of water, it forms only on land and is distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water.

On Earth, 99% of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets (also known as "continental glaciers") in the polar regions, but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent other than the Australian mainland, including Oceania's high-latitude oceanic island countries such as New Zealand. Between latitudes 35°N and 35°S, glaciers occur only in the Himalayas, Andes, and a few high mountains in East Africa, Mexico, New Guinea and on Zard-Kuh in Iran. With more than 7,000 known glaciers, Pakistan has more glacial ice than any other country outside the polar regions. Glaciers cover about 10% of Earth's land surface. Continental glaciers cover nearly 13 million km² (5 million sq mi) or about 98% of Antarctica's 13.2 million km² (5.1 million sq mi), with an average thickness of ice 2,100 m (7,000 ft). Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers. The volume of glaciers, not including the ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland, has been estimated at 170,000 km³. (Full article...)

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Sredna Gora (Bulgarian: Средна гора [ˈsrɛdnɐ ɡoˈra]) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the river Iskar to the west and the elbow of river Tundzha north of the city of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width. Its highest peak is Golyam Bogdan at 1,604 m (5,262 ft). It is part of the Srednogorie mountain chain system, which extends longitudinally across the most country from west to east, between the Balkan Mountains and the Sub-Balkan valleys to the north and the Kraishte, Rila and the Upper Thracian Plain to the south.

The mountain is divided into three parts by the rivers Topolnitsa and Stryama — Ihtimanska Sredna Gora to the west, Sashtinska Sredna Gora in the center, and Sarnena Sredna Gora to the east. Compared to most other mountain ranges in Bulgaria, Sredna Gora has lower average altitude, which determines higher temperatures and lower precipitation. There is an abundance of mineral springs all over Sredna Gora with many spa resorts, such as Hisarya, Starozagorski bani, Pavel Banya, etc. Sredna Gora is rich in mineral resources and especially copper. The economy is well developed. The region is an important national hub of copper extraction and processing industry, as well as of optical industry, both centered in and around the town of Panagyurishte. The largest city in Sredna Gora is Stara Zagora, one of the biggest economic centers of Bulgaria. (Full article...)

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A subglacial mound is a type of subglacial volcano formed when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet. The magma forming these volcanoes was not hot enough to melt a vertical pipe right through the overlying glacial ice, instead forming hyaloclastite and pillow lava deep beneath the glacial ice field. Once the glaciers had retreated, the subglacial volcano would be revealed, with a unique shape as a result of their confinement within glacial ice. They are somewhat rare worldwide, being confined to regions which were formerly covered by continental ice sheets and also had active volcanism during the same period. They are found throughout Iceland, Antarctica and the Canadian province of British Columbia.

Subglacial mounds can be mistaken for cinder cones because they may have a similar shape. An example of this confusion is Pyramid Mountain in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field of east-central British Columbia, Canada. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Rigid step-in (fully automatic) "front-point" crampons used for vertical ice climbing

A crampon is a traction device attached to footwear to improve mobility on snow and ice during ice climbing. Besides ice climbing, crampons are also used for secure travel on snow and ice, such as crossing glaciers, snowfields and icefields, ascending snow slopes, and scaling ice-covered rock.

There are three main attachment systems: step-in, hybrid, and strap bindings. The first two require boots with welts, or specialized mountaineering boots with dedicated front and rear lugs, as a cam-action lever attaches the crampon to the heel. The last type (strap bindings) is more versatile and can adapt to virtually any boot or shoe, but often does not fit as precisely as the other two types. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 2Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 3Everest 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 4Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 5Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 6Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 7The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 8A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 9Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 10The 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 11Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 12This 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 13British 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 14The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 15Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 16Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 17Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 18Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 19An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 20A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 21Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 22Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 23Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 24Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 25Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 26Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 27Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 28Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 29Mont Blanc on the border between Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 30The 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 31Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 32Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 33Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 34Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 35Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 36Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 37Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 38Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 39Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 40Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 41The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 42The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 43Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)

Selected skiing article

Ski ballet is a form of ballet performed on skis. It is very similar to figure skating, combining spins, jumps, and flips in a two-minute routine choreographed to music. It was part of the professional freestyle skiing tours of the 1970s and 1980s and then an official FIS and Olympic discipline until the year 2000. Ski ballet became known as Acroski in the 1990s in an effort to legitimize its place among the competitive ski community, especially to the FIS. It is no longer a part of competitive freestyle skiing. (Full article...)

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