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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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A glacier cave is a cave formed within the ice of a glacier. Glacier caves are often called ice caves, but the latter term is properly used to describe bedrock caves that contain year-round ice. (Full article...)

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Alángup Qáqai is a mountain range located in southwestern Disko Island, in West Greenland. Administratively this range is part of Qeqertalik Municipality. (Full article...)

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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.^{[citation needed]}

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

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Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid medication used to treat rheumatic problems, a number of skin diseases, severe allergies, asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, croup, brain swelling, eye pain following eye surgery, superior vena cava syndrome (a complication of some forms of cancer), and along with antibiotics in tuberculosis. In adrenocortical insufficiency, it may be used in combination with a mineralocorticoid medication such as fludrocortisone. In preterm labor, it may be used to improve outcomes in the baby. It may be given by mouth, as an injection into a muscle, as an injection into a vein, as a topical cream or ointment for the skin or as a topical ophthalmic solution to the eye. The effects of dexamethasone are frequently seen within a day and last for about three days.

The long-term use of dexamethasone may result in thrush, bone loss, cataracts, easy bruising, or muscle weakness. It is in pregnancy category C in the United States, meaning that it should only be used when the benefits are predicted to be greater than the risks. In Australia, the oral use is category A, meaning it has been frequently used in pregnancy and not been found to cause problems to the baby. It should not be taken when breastfeeding. Dexamethasone has anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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

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Freestyle skiing is a skiing discipline comprising aerials, moguls, cross, half-pipe, slopestyle and big air as part of the Winter Olympics. It can consist of a skier performing aerial flips and spins and can include skiers sliding rails and boxes on their skis. Known as "hot-dogging" in the early 1970s, it is also commonly referred to as freeskiing, jibbing, as well as many other names, around the world. (Full article...)

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