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...)

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Selected mountain-related landform

Side valleys and tributary valleys are valleys whose brooks or rivers flow into greater ones.

Upstream, the valleys can be classified in an increasing order which is equivalent to the usual orographic order: the tributaries are ordered from those nearest to the source of the river to those nearest to the mouth of the river. A confluence is where two or more tributaries or rivers flow together. (Full article...)

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The Serranías Chiquitanas are a group of low mountain ranges in the northeast of the Bolivian department of Santa Cruz. The ranges are located at the southern periphery of the discrete massif of the Guaporé shield. The Serranías Chiquitanas stands out of the surrounding lowlands as a series of forested hills some of which have escarpments. The Serranías Chiquitanas runs in a northwest to southeast fashion. The most important ranges among the Serranías are Serranía de Santiago, Serranía de San José, Serranía de Sunsas and Sierra de Chochis. (Full article...)

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Extrusive rock refers to the mode of igneous volcanic rock formation in which hot magma from inside the Earth flows out (extrudes) onto the surface as lava or explodes violently into the atmosphere to fall back as pyroclastics or tuff. In contrast, intrusive rock refers to rocks formed by magma which cools below the surface.

The main effect of extrusion is that the magma can cool much more quickly in the open air or under seawater, and there is little time for the growth of crystals. Sometimes, a residual portion of the matrix fails to crystallize at all, instead becoming a natural glass or obsidian. (Full article...)

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Selected climbing article

Silent Partner, a common self-belay device for rope solo climbing.

Rope-solo climbing or rope-soloing (or self-belaying) is a form of solo climbing (i.e. performed alone without a climbing partner), but unlike with free solo climbing, which is also performed alone and with no climbing protection whatsoever, the rope-solo climber uses a mechanical self-belay device and rope system, which enables them to use the standard climbing protection to protect themselves in the event of a fall.

Rope-soloing can be performed as free climbing in a traditional climbing or a sport climbing format. It can also be performed as aid climbing, and a modified version can be performed as top rope soloing. Due to the complexity of the self-belay system, and the greater workloads, it is still considered a hazardous technique. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 2This 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 3The Catskills in Upstate New York represent an eroded plateau. (from Mountain)
Image 4Everest 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 5Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 6Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 7Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 8Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 9Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 10Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 11Mountain rescue team members and other services attend to a casualty in Freiburg Germany. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 12Mountain climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 13An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 14Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 15Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 16Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)
Image 17Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 18Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 19The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 20The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 21Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 22Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 23Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 24Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 25Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 26Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 27The 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 28A climber taking the final few steps to the 6,160 m (20,210 ft) summit of Imja Tse (Island Peak) in Nepal, 2004 (from Mountaineering)
Image 29British 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 30Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 31Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 32The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 33Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 34A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 35Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 36Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 37Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 38The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 39Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 40A mountain rescue team in Iran moving a casualty. (from Mountain rescue)

Selected skiing article

The parallel turn in alpine skiing is a method for turning which rolls the ski onto one edge, allowing it to bend into an arc. Thus bent, the ski follows the turn without sliding. It contrasts with earlier techniques such as the stem Christie, which slides the ski outward from the body ("stemming") to generate sideways force. Parallel turns generate much less friction and are more efficient both in maintaining speed and minimizing skier effort.

The parallel turn was invented in the 1930s by Austrian ski racer Anton Seelos from Seefeld in Tirol. (Full article...)

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