Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

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). (Full article...)

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An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: sandurs), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and carries the debris along. The meltwater at the snout of the glacier deposits its load of sediment over the outwash plain, with larger boulders being deposited near the terminal moraine, and smaller particles travelling further before being deposited. Sandurs are common in Iceland where geothermal activity accelerates the melting of ice flows and the deposition of sediment by meltwater. (Full article...)

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The Hundalee Hills are located close to the borders of Hurunui District and Kaikōura District in Canterbury in the South Island of New Zealand.

Located 40 kilometres (24.85 mi) to the south of Kaikōura, Hundalee Hills are known largely for a notorious stretch of State Highway 1 between Kaikōura and Christchurch. The road winds sharply around the edge of several hills, as does the Conway River, which reaches the Pacific Ocean close to the Hundalees. (Full article...)

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Igneous rock (igneous from Latin igneus 'fiery'), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava.

The magma can be derived from partial melts of existing rocks in either a planet's mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Solidification into rock occurs either below the surface as intrusive rocks or on the surface as extrusive rocks. Igneous rock may form with crystallization to form granular, crystalline rocks, or without crystallization to form natural glasses. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

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

Selected skiing article

The stem christie or wedge christie, is a type of skiing turn that originated in the mid-1800s in Norway and lasted until the late 1960s. It comprises three steps: 1) forming a wedge by rotating the tail of one ski outwards at an angle to the direction of movement, initiating a change in direction opposite to the stemmed ski, 2) bringing the other ski parallel to the wedged ski, and 3) completing the turn with both skis parallel as they carve an arc, sliding sideways together. (Full article...)

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