Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

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...)

A crevasse is a deep crack that forms in a glacier or ice sheet. Crevasses form as a result of the movement and resulting stress associated with the shear stress generated when two semi-rigid pieces above a plastic substrate have different rates of movement. The resulting intensity of the shear stress causes a breakage along the faces. (Full article...)

Selected mountain range

Location of Phnom Voar in Cambodia

Phnom Voar (Khmer: ភ្នំវល្លិ) is a small range of mountains in southern Cambodia. The mountain range is located in Damnak Chang'eaur District of Kep Province, near the border with Kampot Province. This relatively isolated range became notorious as a battleground during the Cambodian Civil War, when it was a base for communist insurgent forces and the target of significant bombing by B-52s and other air strikes.

The main north south railway line between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville runs along the base of the mountain. National road 33 between Kampong Trach and Kampot also runs nearby. However, there are few roads or paths within the mountains and only two permanent communities: Chamkar Bei and Rones villages. (Full article...)

Selected mountain type

A somma volcano, also known as a sommian, is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone. The type is named after Mount Somma ("Summit"), a stratovolcano in southern Italy with a summit caldera in which the upper cone of Mount Vesuvius has grown. Other examples of somma volcanoes can be found on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands, stretching south from Kamchatka to Hokkaidō, Japan.

Some examples of somma volcanoes are the following: (Full article...)

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 SLCDs, 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. 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...)

General images

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

Selected skiing article

The FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships is the world championship organized by the FIS for freestyle skiing. It was first organized in 1986 and is now held every odd year. Currently, the disciplines included in the World Championships are Aerials, Moguls, Dual Moguls, Ski cross, Half-pipe, Slopestyle and Big air. Formerly, Acroski and a combined event were held. (Full article...)

Subcategories

Mountains
Mountains by city
Mountains by continent
Mountains by country
Mountains by height
Mountains by mountain range
Lists of mountains
Mountain ranges
Biblical mountains
Mountains in culture
Deaths on mountains
Montane ecology
Extraterrestrial mountains
Geologic domes
Mountain geomorphology
Highlands
Hill and mountain resorts
Kames
Mountain lakes
Mountain meteorology
Mountain view points
Mountaineering
Mountain names
Nunataks
Mountain passes
Promontories
Mountain railways
Seven Summits
Mountain spurs
Mountain tunnels
Mountain stubs
Wikipedia categories named after mountains

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Topics

Flora and fauna

Lists of mountains

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