Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Silvretta panorama from the Ochsenkopf

A mountain is an elevated portion of the surface of a planet, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although there are no universally accepted definitions, a mountain is usually considered higher than a hill. By definition, mountains are often thought of as being a landform which is higher than 2,000 feet (610 m). It may either have a limited summit area or be a smaller plateau with high elevation and steep sides. 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 highest mountain on Earth from base to peak is Mauna Kea in Hawaii, which rises 9,330 m (30,610 ft) from its base at the bottom of the ocean; 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

The San Christoval Range is a 50 km long, jagged mountain range located on the west coast of Moresby Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is the only lineal mountain range in the Haida Gwaii and the highest peaks are just above 1000 m. The mountain range was named by Juan José Pérez Hernández in 1774. (Full article...)

Selected mountain type

View of the Kumin Belki (Куминские Белки), Chemalsky District, Altai Republic, Russia.

Belki (Russian: белки; Khakas: Taskhyl), also known as Belogorye (Russian: белогорье), is a type of mountain summit in Southern Siberia. (Full article...)

Selected climbing article

Clockwise from top left:
D-shaped wire gate
D-shaped straight gate
oval straight gate
pear-shaped auto locker
D-shaped screw locker.
Center is a standard carabiner rating.

A carabiner or karabiner (/ˌkærəˈbiːnər/), often shortened to biner or to crab, colloquially known as a (climbing) clip, is a specialized type of shackle, a metal loop with a spring-loaded gate used to quickly and reversibly connect components, most notably in safety-critical systems. The word comes from the German Karabiner, short for Karabinerhaken, meaning "carbine hook," as the device was used by carabiniers to attach their carbines to their belts. (Full article...)

Related portals

General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A ski lodge or day lodge is a building located in a ski area that provides amenities such as food, beverages, seating area, restrooms, and locker rooms for skiers and snowboarders. Larger resorts have a day lodge at each base area and also at mid-mountain, summit, or remote locations within the ski area.

Ski lodge can also refer to a resort area hotel such as Timberline Lodge in Oregon, or a ski club owned building with meeting space and overnight accommodations for members. (Full article...)