Portal:Mountains

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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). (Full article...)

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A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a glacier or ice sheet. It may consist of partly rounded particles ranging in size from boulders (in which case it is often referred to as boulder clay) down to gravel and sand, in a groundmass of finely-divided clayey material sometimes called glacial flour. Lateral moraines are those formed at the side of the ice flow, and terminal moraines were formed at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines (till-covered areas forming sheets on flat or irregular topography) and medial moraines (moraines formed where two glaciers meet). (Full article...)

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Cape Breton Highlands in Nova Scotia

The Cape Breton Highlands (French: Plateau du Cap-Breton, Scottish Gaelic: Àrd-thalamh Cheap Bhreatainn), commonly called the Highlands, refer to a highland or mountainous plateau across the northern part of Cape Breton Island in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.

Considered a subrange of the Appalachian mountain chain, the Highlands comprise the northern portions of Inverness and Victoria Counties. (Full article...)

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Trap rock, also known as either trapp or trap, is any dark-colored, fine-grained, non-granitic intrusive or extrusive igneous rock. Types of trap rock include basalt, peridotite, diabase, and gabbro. Trap is also used to refer to flood (plateau) basalts, e.g. the Deccan Traps and Siberian Traps. The erosion of trap rock created by the stacking of successive lava flows often created a distinct stairstep landscape from which the term trap was derived from the Swedish word trappa, which means "stairway".

The slow cooling of magma either as a sill or as a thick lava flow sometimes creates systematic vertical fractures within the resulting layer of trap rock. These fractures often form rock columns that are typically hexagonal, but also four- to eight-sided. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Rock climber with a helmet, harness & rope, and a traditional climbing "rack" of protection devices on their harness and additional gear sling, which contains SCLDs, nuts, a tricam, and quickdraws

Rock-climbing equipment varies with the type of climbing undertaken. Bouldering needs the least equipment outside of shoes and chalk and optional crash pads. Sport climbing adds ropes, harnesses, belay devices, and quickdraws to clip into pre-drilled bolts. Traditional climbing adds the need for carrying a "rack" of temporary passive and active protection devices. Multi-pitch climbing (and big wall climbing) adds devices to assist in ascending and descending fixed ropes. And finally aid climbing uses unique equipment (e.g. aiders).

Advances in equipment are a key part of the rock climbing history, starting with the climbing rope. Modern devices enable climbers to perform tasks that were previously done manually and with greater control (in all conditions) and less effort. Examples of replacements include the harness (replaced tieing the rope around the waist), the carabiner (replaced many knots), the descender/abseil device (replaced the dülfersitz), the ascender (replaced the prusik knot), the belay device (replaced the body belay), and nuts/hexes (replaced chockstones). (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A funitel is a type of cableway, generally used to transport skiers, although at least one is used to transport finished cars between different areas of a factory. It differs from a standard gondola lift through the use of two arms attached to two parallel overhead cables, providing more stability in high winds. The name funitel is a portmanteau of the French words funiculaire and telepherique.

When used to transport skiers, funitels are a fast way to get to a higher altitude. Skis or snowboard have to be taken off and held during the trip. Depending on the configuration, cabins may or may not contain seats. Without seats, funitels can sometimes be uncomfortable for long trips, in the same way other large cable cars can be. Funitels combine a short time between successive cabins with a capacity of around 20 to 30 people per cabin. (Full article...)

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