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Appalachian Mountains

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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Selected mountain-related landform

An arête (/əˈrɛt/ ə-RET; French: [aʁɛt]) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequently this results in a saddle-shaped pass, called a col. The edge is then sharpened by freeze-thaw weathering, and the slope on either side of the arête steepened through mass wasting events and the erosion of exposed, unstable rock. The word arête (French: [aʁɛt]) is actually French for "edge" or "ridge"; similar features in the Alps are often described with the German equivalent term Grat.

Where three or more cirques meet, a pyramidal peak is created. (Full article...)

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View of the southern slopes of the Haizer Range in the Djurdjura Mountains

The Tell Atlas (Arabic: الاطلس التلي, al-ʾaṭlas al-tlī) is a mountain chain over 1,500 km (932 mi) in length, belonging to the Atlas mountain ranges in North Africa, stretching mainly across northern Algeria, with ends in both north-eastern Morocco and north-western Tunisia.

The ranges of this system have an average elevations of about 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and form a natural barrier between the Mediterranean and the Sahara. Its highest summit is the 2,308 m (7,572 ft) high Lalla Khedidja in the Djurdjura Range. (Full article...)

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An arête (/əˈrɛt/ ə-RET; French: [aʁɛt]) is a narrow ridge of rock that separates two valleys. It is typically formed when two glaciers erode parallel U-shaped valleys. Arêtes can also form when two glacial cirques erode headwards towards one another, although frequently this results in a saddle-shaped pass, called a col. The edge is then sharpened by freeze-thaw weathering, and the slope on either side of the arête steepened through mass wasting events and the erosion of exposed, unstable rock. The word arête (French: [aʁɛt]) is actually French for "edge" or "ridge"; similar features in the Alps are often described with the German equivalent term Grat.

Where three or more cirques meet, a pyramidal peak is created. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Jakob Schubert in the competition lead climbing final of the 2018 IFSC World Championships

Competition climbing is a form of regulated rock climbing competition held indoors on purpose-built artificial climbing walls (earlier versions were held on external natural rock surfaces). The three competition climbing disciplines are lead climbing, bouldering, and speed climbing. The result of multiple disciplines can be used in a "combined" format to determine an all-round winner (or the "combined" winner). Competition climbing is sometimes called "sport climbing", which is the name given to pre-bolted lead climbing.

In competition lead climbing, competitors start at the bottom of a pre-bolted sport climbing route to reach the highest hold possible within a set time limit on a single attempt, making sure to clip the rope into pre-placed quickdraws while ascending. In competition bouldering, competitors climb short problems without a rope, with an emphasis on the number of problems completed, and the attempts necessary to do so. In competition speed climbing, competitors climb a standardised route using a top rope, in the shortest time possible. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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