Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

View of the south side of the Santa Catalina Mountains as seen from Tucson, Arizona.

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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Miller's Cove in Tennessee is an example of a typical Appalachian cove, an enclosed valley in the mountains.

In the central and southern Appalachian Mountains of Eastern North America, a cove is a small valley between two ridge lines that is closed at one or both ends.

Among the places where the word "cove" appears in the name of an Appalachian valley are Morrison Cove in Pennsylvania; Lost Cove, North Carolina; Bumpass Cove, Tennessee; Doran Cove, Grassy Cove, Ladd Cove, in or adjacent to the Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee and Alabama; and numerous locations in the Great Smoky Mountains, including Cades Cove, Greenbrier Cove, Miller Cove, Tuckaleechee Cove, and Wears Cove. Burke's Garden in western Virginia is another example of a cove. (Full article...)

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Panorama of the Venediger Group

The High Tauern (pl.; German: Hohe Tauern, Italian: Alti Tauri) are a mountain range on the main chain of the Central Eastern Alps, comprising the highest peaks east of the Brenner Pass. The crest forms the southern border of the Austrian states of Salzburg, Carinthia and East Tyrol, with a small part in the southwest belongs to the Italian province of South Tyrol. The range includes Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner at 3,798 metres (12,461 ft) above the Adriatic.

In the east, the range is adjoined by the Lower Tauern. For the etymology of the name, see Tauern. (Full article...)

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A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical mountain of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, vent. As the gas-charged lava is blown violently into the air, it breaks into small fragments that solidify and fall as either cinders, clinkers, or scoria around the vent to form a cone that often is symmetrical; with slopes between 30 and 40°; and a nearly circular ground plan. Most cinder cones have a bowl-shaped crater at the summit. (Full article...)

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A Grigri (styled as GriGri or GRIGRI) is an assisted braking belay device manufactured by Petzl designed to help secure rock-climbing, rappelling, and rope-acrobatic activities. Its main characteristic is a clutch that assists in braking under a shock load. The success of this device has led to grigri becoming a common name for devices of this type. In 2011 a new version, the Grigri 2, was released to replace the original 1991 model. Petzl released the Grigri+ in 2017, adding new safety features to the original design. However this made the device heavier and many climbers felt the new safety features (specifically the anti panic handle which stopped the device from lowering when the handle was pulled too far back) got in the way of normal operation when lowering. 2019 saw the release of an updated version of the device, simply called the Grigri. It is named for the African amulet gris-gris, believed to protect the wearer from evil. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

The International Biathlon Union (IBU; German: Internationale Biathlon-Union) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. It was rocked by a corruption scandal that broke in 2018, concerning the Russians bribing its top two officials. In 2022 Russia and Belarus were suspended from all international biathlon competitions until further notice. (Full article...)

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