A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually

in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. Mountains are
formed through tectonic forces or volcanism. These forces can locally raise the surface of the earth
by over 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers, weather
conditions, and glaciers. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in huge mountain
ranges.
High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level. These colder climates
strongly affect the ecosystem 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 and recreation, such as mountain climbing.
The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is
8,849.868 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).
Contents
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1 Definition
2 Geology
o 2.1 Volcanoes
o 2.2 Fold mountains
o 2.3 Block mountains
o 2.4 Erosion
3 Climate
4 Ecology
5 In society
6 Superlatives
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
Definition


The Matterhorn, Swiss Alps


Dme du Goter
There is no universally accepted definition of a mountain. Elevation, volume, relief, steepness,
spacing and continuity have been used as criteria for defining a mountain.
[1]
In the Oxford English
Dictionary a mountain is defined as "a natural elevation of the earth surface rising more or less
abruptly from the surrounding level and attaining an altitude which, relatively to the adjacent
elevation, is impressive or notable."
[1]

Whether a landform is called a mountain may depend on local usage. The highest point in San
Francisco, California, is called Mount Davidson, notwithstanding its height of 300 m (980 ft), which
makes it twenty feet short of the minimum for a mountain by American designations.
[citation
needed]
Similarly, Mount Scott outside Lawton, Oklahoma is only 251 m (823 ft) from its base to its
highest point. Whittow'sDictionary of Physical Geography
[2]
states "Some authorities regard
eminences above 600 m (2,000 ft) as mountains, those below being referred to as hills."
In the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic, a mountain is usually defined as any summit at least
2,000 feet (or 610 metres) high,
[3][4][5][6][7]
whilst the official United Kingdom government's definition of
a mountain, for the purposes of access, is a summit of 600 metres or higher.
[8]
In addition, some
definitions also include a topographical prominence requirement, typically 100 or 500 feet (30 or
152 m).
[9]
For a while, the US defined a mountain as being 1,000 feet (300 m) or taller. Any similar
landform lower than this height was considered a hill. However, today, the United States Geological
Survey (USGS) concludes that these terms do not have technical definitions in the US.
[10]

The UN Environmental Programme's definition of "mountainous environment" includes any of the
following:
[11]

Elevation of at least 2,500 m (8,200 ft);
Elevation of at least 1,500 m (4,900 ft), with a slope greater than 2 degrees;
Elevation of at least 1,000 m (3,300 ft), with a slope greater than 5 degrees;
Elevation of at least 300 m (980 ft), with a 300 m (980 ft) elevation range within 7 km (4.3 mi).
Using these definitions, mountains cover 33% of Eurasia, 19% of South America, 24% of North
America, and 14% of Africa.
[12]
As a whole, 24% of the Earth's land mass is mountainous.
[13]

Geology
Main articles: Mountain formation and List of mountain types


Jeff Davis Peak seen from the glacier-carved summit of Wheeler Peak, Nevada
There are three main types of mountains: volcanic, fold, and block.
[14]
All three types are formed
from plate tectonics: when portions of the Earth's crust move, crumple, and dive. Compressional
forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upward, creating a
landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if
higher and steeper, a mountain. Major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic
plate boundaries and activity.
Volcanoes
Main article: Volcano


Geological cross-section of Fuji volcano
Volcanoes are formed when a plate is pushed below another plate, or at a mid-ocean
ridge or hotspot.
[15]
At a depth of around 100 km, melting occurs in rock above the slab (due to the
addition of water), and forms magma that reaches the surface. When the magma reaches the
surface, it often builds a volcanic mountain, such as a shield volcano or
a stratovolcano.
[16]
Examples of volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan andMount Pinatubo in the
Philippines. The magma does not have to reach the surface in order to create a mountain: magma
that solidifies below ground can still form dome mountains, such as Navajo Mountain in the United
States.
Fold mountains
Main article: Fold mountains
Fold mountains occur when two plates collide: shortening occurs along thrust faults and the crust is
overthickened.
[17]
Since the less dense continental crust "floats" on the densermantle rocks beneath,
the weight of any crustal material forced upward to form hills, plateaus or mountains must
be balanced by the buoyancy force of a much greater volume forced downward into the mantle.
Thus the continental crust is normally much thicker under mountains, compared to lower lying
areas.
[18]
Rock can fold either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The upfolds are anticlines and the
downfolds are synclines: in asymmetric folding there may also be recumbent and overturned folds.
The Jura Mountains are an example of fold mountains.
Block mountains
Main article: Block mountains


The Catskills are a dissected plateau.
Block mountains are caused by faults in the crust: a seam where rocks can move past each other.
When rocks on one side of a fault rise relative to the other, it can form a mountain.
[19]
The uplifted
blocks are block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben: these can
be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa,
the Vosges, theBasin and Range province of Western North America and the Rhine valley. These
areas often occur when the regional stress is extensional and the crust is thinned.
Erosion
Main article: Erosion
During and following uplift, mountains are subjected to the agents of erosion (water, wind, ice and
gravity) which gradually wear the uplifted area down. Erosion causes the surface of mountains to be
younger than the rocks that form the mountains themselves.
[20]
Glacial processes produce
characteristic landforms, such as pyramidal peaks, knife-edge artes, and bowl-shaped cirques that
can contain lakes. Plateau mountains, such as theCatskills, are formed from the erosion of an
uplifted plateau.
Climate
Main article: Alpine climate


A mountain in Carbon County, Utah


The Rockies - Valley of the Ten Peaks
Climate on mountains become colder at high elevations, due to the way that the sun heats the
surface of the Earth.
[21]
The sun warms the ground directly, while the greenhouse effect acts as a
blanket, reflecting heat back towards the Earth that would otherwise be lost to space. The
greenhouse effect thus keeps the air at low elevations warm. As elevation increases, there is less
greenhouse effect, so the ambient temperature goes down.
[22]

The rate at which the temperature drops with elevation, called the environmental lapse rate, is not
constant (it can fluctuate throughout the day or seasonally and also regionally), but a typical lapse
rate is 5.5C per 1,000 m (3.57F per 1,000 ft).
[23][24]
Therefore, moving up 100 meters on a mountain
is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometers (45 miles or 0.75 of latitude) towards the nearest
pole.
[25]
This relationship is only approximate, however, since local factors such as proximity
to oceans (such as the Arctic Ocean) can drastically modify the climate.
[26]
As the altitude increases,
the main form of precipitation becomes snow and the winds increase.
[27]

The effect of the climate on the ecology at an elevation can be largely captured through a
combination of amount of precipitation, and thebiotemperature, as described by Leslie Holdridge in
1947.
[28]
Biotemperature is the mean temperature, where all temperatures below 0 C (32 F) are
considered to be 0 C. When the temperature is below 0 C, plants are dormant, so the exact
temperature is unimportant. The peaks of mountains with permanent snow can have a
biotemperature below 1.5 C (34.7 F).
Ecology
Main article: Montane ecology


An alpine mire in the Swiss Alps
The colder climate on mountains affects the plants and animals residing on mountains. A particular
set of plants and animals tend to be adapted to a relatively narrow range of climate. Thus,
ecosystems tend to lie along elevation bands of roughly constant climate. This is called altitudinal
zonation.
[29]
In regions with dry climates, the tendency of mountains to have higher precipitation as
well as lower temperatures also provides for varying conditions, which enhances zonation.
[30][31]

Some plants and animals found in altitudinal zones tend to become isolated since the conditions
above and below a particular zone will be inhospitable and thus constrain their movements
or dispersal. These isolated ecological systems are known as sky islands.
[32]

Altitudinal zones tend to follow a typical pattern. At the highest elevations, trees cannot grow, and
whatever life may be present will be of the alpine type, resembling tundra.
[31]
Just below the tree line,
one may find subalpine forests of needleleaf trees, which can withstand cold, dry
conditions.
[33]
Below that, montane forests grow. In the temperate portions of the earth, those forests
tend to be needleleaf trees, while in the tropics, they can bebroadleaf trees growing in a rain forest.