Portal:Mountains

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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). The tallest mountain including submarine terrain is Mauna Kea in Hawaii from its underwater base at 9,330 m (30,610 ft); some scientists consider it to be the tallest on earth. (Full article...)

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A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an orogeny. Mountain ranges are formed by a variety of geological processes, but most of the significant ones on Earth are the result of plate tectonics. Mountain ranges are also found on many planetary mass objects in the Solar System and are likely a feature of most terrestrial planets.

Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types. (Full article...)

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Garnet Ghost Town, Garnet Range

The Garnet Range, highest point Old Baldy Mountain, elevation 7,511 feet (2,289 m), is a mountain range northeast of Drummond, Montana in Powell County, Montana.

A popular historic site, Garnet Ghost Town, is in the Garnet Range. Situated on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, the ghost town is the remnant of a mining settlement that was inhabited from the late 1800s to the 1930s. The town's population reached several thousand during its peak. A visitor center and self-guided tours are available. (Full article...)

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A mound is a heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. Most commonly, mounds are earthen formations such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. A mound may be any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial mounds have been created for a variety of reasons throughout history, including habitation (see Tell and Terp), ceremonial (platform mound), burial (tumulus), and commemorative purposes (e.g. Kościuszko Mound). (Full article...)

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A person wearing a simple face mask

Oxygen therapy, also referred to as supplemental oxygen, is the use of oxygen as medical treatment. Supplemental oxygen can also refer to the use of oxygen enriched air at altitude. Acute indications for therapy include hypoxemia (low blood oxygen levels), carbon monoxide toxicity and cluster headache. It may also be prophylactically given to maintain blood oxygen levels during the induction of anesthesia. Oxygen therapy is often useful in chronic hypoxemia caused by conditions such as severe COPD or cystic fibrosis. Oxygen can be delivered via nasal cannula, face mask, or endotracheal intubation at normal atmospheric pressure, or in a hyperbaric chamber. It can also be given through bypassing the airway, such as in ECMO therapy.

Oxygen is required for normal cellular metabolism. However, excessively high concentrations can result in oxygen toxicity, leading to lung damage and respiratory failure. Higher oxygen concentrations can also increase the risk of airway fires, particularly while smoking. Oxygen therapy can also dry out the nasal mucosa without humidification. In most conditions, an oxygen saturation of 94–96% is adequate, while in those at risk of carbon dioxide retention, saturations of 88–92% are preferred. In cases of carbon monoxide toxicity or cardiac arrest, saturations should be as high as possible. While air is typically 21% oxygen by volume, oxygen therapy can increase O₂ content of air up to 100%. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1British 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 2Climbers ascending Mount Rainier looking at Little Tahoma Peak (from Mountaineering)
Image 3Mountaineers climbing in South Tyrol (from Mountain)
Image 4This 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 5Car of Horská služba (Czech Republic) (from Mountain rescue)
Image 6Everest 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 7Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria, part of the fault-block Rila-Rhodope massif (from Mountain)
Image 8Waimea Canyon, Hawaii, is known for its montane vegetation. (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 9Alpine landscape below Malyovitsa Peak, Rila Mountain, Bulgaria (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 10Edmund Hillary (left) and Tenzing Norgay after successfully completing the first ascent of Mount Everest, 29 May 1953
Image 11Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. (from Mountain range)
Image 12Winter campers bivouaced in the snow (from Mountaineering)
Image 13The Ocean Ridge, the world's longest mountain range (chain) (from Mountain range)
Image 14Mont Blanc in Aosta Valley, Italy, the highest point in the European Union (from Mountain)
Image 15Cabane du Trient, a mountain hut in the Swiss Alps (from Mountaineering)
Image 16A stand of mountain birch at around 750 m in Trollheimen, typical of Scandinavian subalpine forests (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 17Fixed lines and ladders are distinguishing characteristics of expedition style mountaineering (from Mountaineering)
Image 18Tropical montane forest at around 2,000 m in Malaysia (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 19Temperate montane forest in Bavaria, Germany (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 20Fuji volcano (from Mountain)
Image 21Mount Everest, Earth's highest mountain (from Mountain)
Image 22The Dolomite Mountains, Italy, in summer. The climate of the Dolomites is characterized by short but warm and mild summers, while winters are long and very cold. (from Mountain)
Image 23A subalpine lake in the Cascade Range, Washington, United States (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 24Iranian oak scrub in the Zagros Mountains (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 25Apennine Mountains and Trebbia river, Italy (from Mountain)
Image 26An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps (from Mountain)
Image 27Climber approaching the summit of Manaslu at 8,163 metres (from Mountaineering)
Image 28The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation. (from Mountain)
Image 29The Namcha Barwa Himal, east part of the Himalayas as seen from space by Apollo 9 (from Mountain range)
Image 30Illustration of mountains that developed on a fold that has been thrust (from Mountain)
Image 31Alpine flora near Cascade Pass (from Montane ecosystems)
Image 32Edelweiss, a plant associated with mountain sports (from Mountaineering)
Image 33Edward Whymper (1840–1911), painting by Lance Calkin (from Mountaineering)
Image 34Distribution of mountains by location and elevation (from Mountain)
Image 35Mountaineers proceed across snow fields on South Tyrol; other climbers are visible further up the slopes. (from Mountaineering)
Image 36Antique climbing tools (from Mountaineering)
Image 37Stretcher box in Cumbria, England, prepositioned equipment saves mountain rescue teams having to trudge up mountains with it. (from Mountain rescue)
Image 38The 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 39The northern Urals at high latitude and elevation have an alpine climate and barren ground. (from Mountain)
Image 40Choppering out the injured – with Mt. Forbes in the background (from Mountain rescue)
Image 41Mountaineers, c. 1900 (from Mountaineering)
Image 42Chimborazo, Ecuador, whose summit is the point farthest away from the Earth's center (from Mountain)

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An ice block

Ice is water that is frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 °C, 32 °F, or 273.15 K. It occurs naturally on Earth, on other planets, in Oort cloud objects, and as interstellar ice. As a naturally occurring crystalline inorganic solid with an ordered structure, ice is considered to be a mineral. Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaque bluish-white color.

Virtually all of the ice on Earth is of a hexagonal crystalline structure denoted as ice I_h (spoken as "ice one h"). Depending on temperature and pressure, at least nineteen phases (packing geometries) can exist. The most common phase transition to ice I_h occurs when liquid water is cooled below 0 °C (273.15 K, 32 °F) at standard atmospheric pressure. When water is cooled rapidly (quenching), up to three types of amorphous ice can form. Interstellar ice is overwhelmingly low-density amorphous ice (LDA), which likely makes LDA ice the most abundant type in the universe. When cooled slowly, correlated proton tunneling occurs below −253.15 °C (20 K, −423.67 °F) giving rise to macroscopic quantum phenomena. (Full article...)