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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

A moulin (or glacier mill) is a roughly circular, vertical (or nearly vertical) well-like shaft formed where a surface meltstream exploits a weakness in the ice. The term is derived from the French word for mill.

They can be up to 10 meters wide and are typically found on ice sheets and flat areas of a glacier in a region of transverse crevasses. Moulins can reach the bottom of the glacier, hundreds of meters deep, or may only reach the depth of common crevasse formation (about 10–40 m) where the stream flows englacially. They are the most typical cause for the formation of a glacier cave. (Full article...)

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Western face of Castle Mountains near Ringling, Montana

The Castle Mountains, highest point Elk Peak, el. 8,589 feet (2,618 m), are an island range east of White Sulphur Springs in Meagher County, Montana, United States. About 30,000 acres of the Castles were roadless as of 1995. The western portion of the Castles are moist, while the eastside is dry, porous limestone hills. The range gets its name from "castle turrets", 50-foot high igneous rock spires on the western slopes. The range was the focus of mining activity in the previous century; crumbling remains of old miners' cabins and diggings are present throughout the area. The landscape is characterized by a central cluster of peaks over 8,000 feet and extensive grassy parks surrounded by lodgepole pine and limber pine. The Castles are lightly used by recreationists except for hunters in the fall. On the peak of Castle Mountain itself is a logbook for the few who reach the top. There is no trail that leads to the peak.

Southern face of Castle Mountains from Ringling, Montana
Southeastern corner of Castle Mountain on Castle Town road

(Full article...)

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A conical hill (also cone or conical mountain) is a landform with a distinctly conical shape. It is usually isolated or rises above other surrounding foothills, and is often of volcanic origin.

Conical hills or mountains occur in different shapes and are not necessarily geometrically-shaped cones; some are more tower-shaped or have an asymmetric curve on one side of the hill. Typically, however, they have a circular base and smooth sides with a gradient of up to 30°. Such conical mountains are found in all volcanically-formed areas of the world such as the Bohemian Central Uplands in the Czech Republic, the Rhön in Germany or the Massif Central in France. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

An auto belay (or autobelay) is a mechanical device used for belaying in indoor climbing walls, in both training and competition climbing formats. The device enables a climber to ascend indoor routes on a top rope but without the need for a human belaying partner. The device, which is permanently mounted in a fixed position at the top of the route, winds up a tape or steel wire to which the ascending climber is attached. When the ascending climber sits back, or falls, the auto belay automatically brakes and smoothly lowers the climber to the ground. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-comfort aerial lifts, such as chairlifts and gondola lifts. Today, surface lifts are most often found on beginner slopes, small ski areas, and peripheral slopes. They are also often used to access glacier ski slopes because their supports can be anchored in glacier ice due to the lower forces and realigned due to glacier movement.

Surface lifts have some disadvantages compared to aerial lifts: they require more passenger skill and may be difficult for some beginners (especially snowboarders, whose boards point at an angle different than the direction of travel) and children; sometimes they lack a suitable route back to the piste; the snow surface must be continuous; they can get in the way of skiable terrain; they are relatively slow in speed and have lower capacity. (Full article...)

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