Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Appalachian Mountains

A mountain is an elevated portion of the surface of a planet, 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 several hundred metres (a few thousand feet) 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...)

Selected mountain-related landform

Satellite image of kettle lakes in Yamal Peninsula (Northern Siberia), adjacent to the Gulf of Ob (right). The lake colors indicate amounts of sediment or depth.

A kettle (also known as a kettle hole, kettlehole, pothole, or, in parts of the United Kingdom, pingo) is a depression or hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating glaciers, which become surrounded by sediment deposited by meltwater streams as there is increased friction. The ice becomes buried in the sediment and when the ice melts, a depression is left called a kettle hole, creating a dimpled appearance on the outwash plain. Lakes often fill these kettles; these are called kettle hole lakes. Another source is the sudden drainage of an ice-dammed lake and when the block melts, the hole it leaves behind is a kettle. As the ice melts, ramparts can form around the edge of the kettle hole. The lakes that fill these holes are seldom more than 10 m (33 ft) deep and eventually fill with sediment. In acidic conditions, a kettle bog may form but in alkaline conditions, it will be kettle peatland. (Full article...)

Selected mountain range

North Shore Mountains from Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver

The North Shore Mountains are a mountain range overlooking Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. Their southernmost peaks are visible from most areas in Vancouver and form a distinctive backdrop for the city.

The steep southern slopes of the North Shore Mountains limit the extent to which the municipalities of Metro Vancouver's North Shore (West Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver and the Village of Lions Bay) can grow. In many places on the North Shore, residential neighbourhoods abruptly end and rugged forested slopes begin. These forested slopes are crisscrossed by a large network of trails including the Baden-Powell Trail, the Howe Sound Crest Trail, the Binkert/Lions Trail and a wide variety of mountain biking trails. (Full article...)

Selected mountain type

Tomb of King Alyattes at Bin Tepe in Lydia, modern Turkey, built c. 560 BC. It is one of the largest tumuli ever built, with a diameter of 360 meters and a height of 61 meters.

A tumulus (pl.: tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as kurgans, and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones built for various purposes, may also originally have been a tumulus.

Tumuli are often categorised according to their external apparent shape. In this respect, a long barrow is a long tumulus, usually constructed on top of several burials, such as passage graves. A round barrow is a round tumulus, also commonly constructed on top of burials. The internal structure and architecture of both long and round barrows have a broad range; the categorization only refers to the external apparent shape. (Full article...)

Selected climbing article

Climbing is a major US-based rock climbing magazine first published in 1970. In 2007, it was bought by Skram Media, the publisher of Urban Climber Magazine. The headquarters of the magazine is in Boulder, Colorado. It is published nine times a year. Climbing was purchased by Outside in 2021. (Full article...)

Related portals

General images

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

Image 1Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 2Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 3The 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 4Mountaineers climbing Ortler in South Tyrol, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 5A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 6Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 7Treeline elevation by latitude (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 8Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 9Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 10Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 11Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 12An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 13Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 14Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 15K2, the second-highest mountain in the world, is revered for its isolation, difficulty, and the profound sense of awe it inspires among climbers. Many alpinists describe ascents of peaks like K2 as deeply spiritual experiences, combining physical challenge with introspection and transcendence. (from Mountaineering)
Image 16Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 17The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. Mount Illimani dominates the city's skyline. (from Mountain)
Image 18Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 19Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 20Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 21Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 22Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 23The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 24The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 25Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 26Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 27Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak, United States (from Mountaineering)
Image 28Mont Blanc on the border between Aosta Valley, Italy, and Haute-Savoie, France, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 29Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 30Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 31A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 32Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystem)
Image 33Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 34The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 35Everest 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 36Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 37Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 38This 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 39Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 40The 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 41Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 42Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 43British 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 44Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)

Selected skiing article

Ski and Snowboarding Foundation Nepal is non profit and non governmental organisation established in 2016 with the aim of developing skiing and snowboarding culture in Nepal. Since its establishment, the foundation has organized events, training, research and camps in different places of Nepal. Ski and Snowboarding Foundation Nepal installed the first ski lift in Nepal in Kalinchowk. Ski and Snowboarding Foundation Nepal was founded by Utsav Pathak and Julious Seidenador in 2016. Ski and Snowboarding Foundation Nepal has been working from Humla to Solukhumbu. They have also been featured in many international magazines and have been nominated for UIAA 2022 Mountain Protection Award.

Ski and Snowboarding Foundation is also known as NFSS among ski and snowboarding community in Nepal (Full article...)