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). 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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An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an asar, osar, or serpent kame, is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North America. Eskers are frequently several kilometres long and, because of their uniform shape, look like railway embankments. (Full article...)

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Location of Teteven

Teteven (Bulgarian: Тетевен, pronounced [ˈtɛtɛvɛn]) is a town on the banks of the Vit, at the foot of the Balkan mountains in north central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Teteven Municipality which is a part of Lovech Province. As of December 2010, the town had a population of 10,733. (Full article...)

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A pancake dome is an unusual type of lava dome found on the planet Venus. They are widely scattered on that planet and often form groups or clusters, though with smaller numbers of pancake domes in each group than is typical for the more common shield volcanos. They are commonly found near coronae and tesserae (large regions of highly deformed terrain, folded and fractured in two or three dimensions, believed to be unique to Venus) in the lowland plains. Pancake domes are between 10 and 100 times larger than volcanic domes formed on Earth. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Camalot is a brand of spring-loaded camming devices manufactured by Black Diamond Equipment used to secure ropes while rock climbing. Camalots use a dual-axle system, resulting in a slightly higher expansion range than similarly sized single axle units, however that results in significant weight penalty. Dual-axle was patented and for decades was only used by Black Diamond, however the patent has expired in 2005 and several other manufacturers began producing dual-axel cams, often also replicating Camalots sizes and coloring. Most notable Camalot look-alikes include DMM Dragons and Wild Country's New Friends.

Like other cams, Camalot lobes are in the shape of a logarithmic spiral, resulting in a constant angle between the cam and the rock at each contact point; this constant angle is designed to always provide the necessary friction to hold a cam in equilibrium. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

Free moving heels during the ascent are a defining characteristic of ski touring. After reaching the mountain top or other destination, the heel portions of the special touring bindings are fixated such that the skis behave like normal alpine skis on the typically long ride downhill.

Ski touring is skiing in the backcountry on unmarked or unpatrolled areas. Touring is typically done off-piste and outside of ski resorts, and may extend over a period of more than one day. It is similar to backcountry skiing but excludes the use of a ski lift or transport.

Ski touring combines elements of Nordic and alpine skiing and embraces such sub-disciplines as Telemark and randonnée. A defining characteristic is that the skier's heels are "free" – i.e. not bound to the skis – in order to allow a natural gliding motion while traversing and ascending terrain which may range from perfectly flat to extremely steep. (Full article...)

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