Portal:Mountains

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Introduction

Silvretta panorama from the Ochsenkopf

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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An inselberg or monadnock (/məˈnædnɒk/ mə-NAD-nok) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an Afrikaans word ("little head") from the Dutch diminutive word kopje. If the inselberg is dome-shaped and formed from granite or gneiss, it can also be called a bornhardt, though not all bornhardts are inselbergs. An inselberg results when a body of rock resistant to erosion, such as granite, occurring within a body of softer rocks, is exposed by differential erosion and lowering of the surrounding landscape. (Full article...)

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Snøhetta, the highest mountain on Dovrefjell, in the winter.

Dovrefjell is a mountain range in Central Norway that forms a natural barrier between Eastern Norway and Trøndelag. The mountain range is located in Innlandet, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag counties in Norway. As a result of its central location, its valleys and passes have been heavily trafficked during and probably preceding historical times. Several mountain inns were established in the Middle Ages to house pilgrims traveling through Dovrefjell to Trondheim, and there are even ruins of an old leper colony in the northern area of it. The main south-north highway (European route E6) and the Dovrebanen railway line both run through a mountain pass in the Dovrefjell range. The highway is a year-round highway but on rare occasions it is closed for short periods during heavy winter weather conditions. The mountain range runs through the municipalities of Oppdal in Trøndelag county, Folldal, Dovre, and Lesja in Innlandet county, and Sunndal in Møre og Romsdal county. The municipalities of Oppdal, Folldal, and Dovre, together, make up what is sometimes known as the Dovre Region. (Full article...)

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Mount Rainier, a 4,392 m (14,411 ft) stratovolcano, the highest point in the US state of Washington

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and periodic intervals of explosive eruptions and effusive eruptions, although some have collapsed summit craters called calderas. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high to intermediate levels of silica (as in rhyolite, dacite, or andesite), with lesser amounts of less viscous mafic magma. Extensive felsic lava flows are uncommon, but have traveled as far as 15 km (9 mi).

Stratovolcanoes are sometimes called composite volcanoes because of their composite stratified structure, built up from sequential outpourings of erupted materials. They are among the most common types of volcanoes, in contrast to the less common shield volcanoes. Two examples of stratovolcanoes famous for catastrophic eruptions are Krakatoa in Indonesia, which erupted in 1883, and Vesuvius in Italy, having erupted in 79; both eruptions claimed thousands of lives. In modern times, Mount St. Helens in Washington State, US, and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines have erupted catastrophically, but with fewer deaths. (Full article...)

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BMC headquarters in Manchester

The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is the national representative body for England and Wales that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers. The BMC are also recognised by government as the national governing body for competition climbing. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

Selected skiing article

A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized luxury facilities with full-service accommodations and amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient place to stay. These hotels may be referred to as major conference center hotels, flagship hotels, destination hotels, and destination resorts. The market for conference and resort hotels is a subject for market analysis.

These hotels as destinations may be characterized by distinctive architecture, upscale lodgings, ballrooms, large conference facilities, restaurants, and recreation activities such as golf or skiing. They may be located in a variety of settings from major cities to remote locations. (Full article...)

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