Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere

For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation).

A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally much higher and steeper than a hill, but there is considerable overlap, and usage often depends on local custom. Some authorities define a mountain as a peak with a topographic prominence over an arbitrary value: for example, the Encyclopædia Britannica requires a prominence of 2,000 feet (610 m). Image File history File links Denali - Mt. ... Image File history File links Denali - Mt. ... Denali redirects here. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski (R) Senators Ted Stevens (R) Lisa Murkowski (R) Official language(s) English Area 663,267 mi² / 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 571,951 mi² / 1,481... Look up Mountain in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A mountain is a type of landform. ... A landform comprises a geomorphological unit. ... A hill in Hungary with a hillside vintage garden For the landform that extends less than 600 metres above the surrounding terrain and that is smaller than a mountain, see the mountain article. ... In topography, prominence, also known as autonomous height, relative height, shoulder drop or prime factor (in Europe), is a concept used in the categorization of hills and mountains. ... 1913 advertisement for the 11th edition, with the slogan When in doubt - look it up in the Encyclopædia Britannica The Encyclopædia Britannica (properly spelt with æ, the ae-ligature) is the oldest English-language general encyclopedia, first published in 1768-1771 as From the late 18th century to the...

24% of the Earth's land mass is mountainous; 10% of the world's 6 billion people live in mountainous regions. All the world's major rivers are fed from mountain sources, and more than half of humanity depends on mountains for water [1].

The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and the things associated with them.

Heights

Heights of mountains are generally given as heights above mean sea level. The Himalayas average 5km above sea level, whilst the Andes average 4km. Most other mountain ranges average 2-2.5km. For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The highest mountain on Earth is Everest, 8850 m, set in the world's most significant mountain range, the Himalaya. Other definitions of height are possible. The peak that is farthest from the centre of the Earth is Chimborazo in Ecuador. At 6,272 m above sea level it is not even the tallest peak in the Andes, but because the Earth bulges at the equator and Chimborazo is very close to the equator, it is 2,150 m further away from the Earth's centre than Everest. The peak that rises farthest from its base is Mauna Kea on Hawaii, whose peak is over 9,000 m above its base on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth above mean sea level. ... The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. ... Earth, also known as the Earth, Terra, and (mostly in the 19th century) Tellus, is the third-closest planet to the Sun. ... Mount Chimborazo is an extinct volcano located in the Andes mountains of central Ecuador, 150 kilometres south-southwest of the capital Quito. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano in the Hawaiian Islands, one of five volcanic peaks that together form the Island of Hawaii. ... State nickname: The Aloha State Other U.S. States Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Monarch Akahi Nui Governor Linda Lingle (R) Senators Daniel Inouye (D) Daniel Akaka (D) Official language(s) Hawaiian and English Area 28,337 km² (43rd)  - Land 16,649 km²  - Water 11,672 km² (41. ...

The tallest known mountain in the solar system is Olympus Mons, located on Mars. Presentation of the solar system (not to scale) The solar system is the retinue of objects gravitationally bound to our Sun. ... Olympus Mons Olympus Mons (Latin, Mount Olympus) is the tallest known mountain in our solar system, located on the planet Mars at approximately 18° N 226° E. In the days before space probes revealed its identity as a mountain, Olympus Mons was known to astronomers as the albedo feature, Nix... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...

Characteristics

The altitude of mountains means that the tops exist in higher cold layers of the atmosphere. They are consequently often subject to glaciation and erosion through frost action. This produces the classic mountain peak shape. Some mountains have glacial lakes, created by melting glaciers; for example, there are an estimated 3000 in Bhutan. Glaciation, often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... Severe soil erosion in a wheat field near Washington State University, USA. Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, movement in response to gravity, or living organisms (in the case of bioerosion). ... Categories: Stub ... What is a glacial lake? A glacial lake is a lake that origins from a melted glacier. ...

Sufficiently tall mountains have very different climatic conditions at the top than at the base, and will thus have different life zones at different altitudes on their slopes. The plants and animals of a zone are somewhat isolated when the zones above and below are inhospitable, and many unique species occur on mountainsides as a result. Extreme cases are known as sky islands. Cloud forests are forests on mountain sides which attract moisture from the air, creating a unique ecosystem. The Life Zone concept was developed by C. Hart Merriam in 1889 as a means of describing areas with similar plant and animal communities. ... For the fantasy novel by L. Frank Baum, see Sky Island Sky islands are mountains in ranges isolated by valleys in which other ecosystems are located. ... The cloud forest of Monteverde , Costa Rica A cloud forest is a generally tropical or subtropical evergreen montane forest characterized by a high incidence of low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level. ... In ecology, an ecosystem is a naturally occurring assemblage of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms—also referred to as a biotic community or biocoenosis) living together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a loose unit. ...

Mountains are not generally favored for human habitation; the weather is harsher, less food is available, and there is little level ground suitable for farming. At very high altitudes, there is less oxygen in the air, and less protection against solar radiation (UV). Acute mountain sickness (caused by hypoxia - a lack of oxygen in the blood) affects over half of lowlanders who spend more than a few hours above 3500 metres. Despite some biological adaptation by peoples who have lived on mountains for hundreds or thousands of years, babies' average birthweight is reduced by 100 grams for every 1000-metre gain in altitude. Binomial name Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Subspecies Homo sapiens idaltu (extinct) Homo sapiens sapiens For other uses, see Human (disambiguation). ... Farming, ploughing rice paddy, in Indonesia Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and other desired products by cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... Altitude sickness, also known as acute mountain sickness (AMS) or altitude illness is a pathological condition that is caused by lack of adaptation to high altitudes. ... Hypoxia has several meanings: Hypoxia is the lack of oxygen in tissues, see Hypoxia (medical) Hypoxia is the lack of oxygen in a water body leading to the death of organisms, see Hypoxia (water) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share...

Most mountains of the world have been left in their natural state, and are today primarily used for recreation. Some mountains are very difficult to climb, and offer spectacular views. Some people therefore enjoy the sport of mountaineering. Mountains are also the site for the sport of downhill skiing. People engaging in these activities often stay at mountain resorts built for the purpose. Recreation is often distinguished from leisure. ... If you were looking for the car, please see Mercury Mountaineer. ... Alpine skiing (or downhill skiing) is a recreational activity and sport involving sliding down snow-covered hills with long, thin skis attached to each foot. ... Mountain Resort in Chengde The Mountain Resort (Chinese: 避暑山庄, pinyin: Bìshǔ Shānzhuāng, literally: Mountain Resort for Avoiding the Heat) or Ligong (Chinese: 离宫, pinyin: Lígōng, the Qing Dynastys summer palace) situated in the city of Chengde in Hebei Province, China, is the worlds largest existing...

Geology

The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everest.

A mountain is usually produced by the movement of lithospheric plates, either orogenic movement or epeirogenic movement. The compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upwards, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, a mountain. The absolute heights of features termed mountains and hills vary greatly according to an area's topography. The major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity. Mountain creation tends to occur in discrete periods, each referred to as an orogeny. The orogeny may last millions of years, and the uplifted region is being eroded away, producing valley-and-peak topography, even while the uplift is taking place. Two types of mountain are formed depending on how the rock reacts to the tectonic forces – block mountains or fold mountains. Download high resolution version (1000x662, 416 KB)The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everest as seen from the International Space Station looking south-south-east over the Tibetan Plateau. ... Download high resolution version (1000x662, 416 KB)The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everest as seen from the International Space Station looking south-south-east over the Tibetan Plateau. ... The Himalaya is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. ... Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth above mean sea level. ... Plate tectonics (from the Greek word for one who constructs, τεκτων, tekton) is a theory of geology developed to explain the phenomenon of continental drift, and is currently the theory accepted by the vast majority of scientists working in this area. ... In geology, orogeny is the process of mountain building. ... Volcanic rock on North America Plutonic rock on North America Igneous rocks are formed when molten rock (magma) cools and solidifies, with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ... In geology, orogeny is the process of mountain building. ...

The compressional forces in continental collisions may cause the compressed region to thicken, so the upper surface is forced upwards. In order to balance the weight, much of the compressed rock is forced downwards, producing deep "mountain roots". Mountains therefore form downwards as well as upwards (see isostasy). However, in some continental collisions part of one continent may simply override part of the other, crumpling in the process. Isostasy is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of gravitational equilibrium between the Earths lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates float at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. ...

Some isolated mountains were produced by volcanoes, including many apparently small islands that reach a great height above the ocean floor. A volcano is a geological landform (usually a mountain) where a substance, usually magma (rock of the Earths interior made molten or liquid by extremely high temperatures along with a reduction in pressure and/or the introduction of water or other volatiles) erupts through the surface of a planet. ... The worlds oceans as seen from the South Pole Ocean (from Okeanos, Greek for river, the ancient Greeks noticed that a strong current flowed off of Gibraltar, and assumed it was a great river; Greek ωκεανός) covers almost three quarters (71%) of the surface of the Earth, and nearly half...

Block mountains are created when large areas are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements. The uplifted blocks are block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben: these can be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa, the Vosges, the Basin and Range province of Western North America and the Rhine valley. USGS image In physical geography and geology, a horst is the raised fault block bounded by normal faults. ... USGS image A graben is a depressed block of land bordered by parallel faults. ... East Africa is a region generally considered to include: Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Somalia Tanzania Uganda Burundi, Rwanda, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, and Sudan are sometimes considered a part of East Africa. ... Vosges is a French département, named after the Vosges mountain range. ... Basin and Range index map - USGS The Basin and Range Province is a particular type of topography that covers much of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico that is typified by elongate north-south trending arid valleys bounded by mountain ranges which also bound adjacent valleys. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the... At 1,320 kilometres (820 miles) and an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second, the Rhine (German Rhein, French Rhin, Dutch Rijn, Romansch: Rein, Italian: Reno) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. ...

Where rock does not fault it folds, either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The upfolds are anticlines and the downfolds are synclines; in asymmetric folding there may also be recumbent and overturned folds. The Jura mountains are an example of folding. Over time, erosion can bring about an inversion of relief: the soft upthrust rock is worn away so the anticlines are actually lower than the tougher, more compressed rock of the synclines.

See also

• List of mountains
• List of highest mountains
• Latin names of mountains
• Mountain range and list of mountain ranges
• List of mountains on Venus
• List of mountains on the Moon
• Gallery of mountains
• Peak

. // 10 Highest Everest (8. ... Mount Everest, the worlds highest mountain The following is a list of the worlds 70 highest mountains, all of which are located in Asia. ... Mountains like Hymettus have a Latinized Greek origin Hymettos. ... The most general definition of a mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ... This is a list of mountain ranges organized alphabetically by continent. ... This is a list of mountains on the planet Venus. ... This is a list of mountains on the Moon: // Mountains These are isolated mountains or massifs. ... This is a gallery of images of mountains and mountain ranges. ... Categories: Stub ...

External links

• Pics from the Tatra Mountains - Poland
• [http://bivouac.com Canadian Mountain Encyclopedia - an exhaustive index of North American peaks, including thousands of unnamed ones. Includes the United States and Mexico as well as Canada.

Look up Mountain on Wiktionary, the free dictionary