THE 6 MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF MOUNTAINS - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

Mountains are topographic eminences, which means that they are elevations of land of more than 700 meters from their base. They are grouped in mountain ranges and mountain ranges, with the exception of volcanoes that can be found alone.

Mountains make up 24% of the earth's surface, where we find 53% of the surface of Asia covered by mountains, 58% in America, 25% in Europe, 17% in Australia and lastly, the continent with fewer mountains, Africa, with only 3% of its surface covered by mountain ranges.

Mountains are formed when two pieces of the earth's crust, the lithosphere, collide. This causes slabs in the lithosphere to be forced downward and others to pile up. The crust rises in this process and forms the mountain ranges.

Main characteristics of the mountains

Training period

We can classify mountains according to their period of formation. We can distinguish three periods. The Caledonian orogeny, where the mountainous reliefs were formed more than 400 million years ago. Some of the mountains that were formed in this period are found in Scotland.

The Hercynian, where we find most of the mountain ranges of Europe, Asia and America, which occurred about 270 million years ago. We can highlight in this period the mountain ranges of the Urals and that of the Appalachians

The Alpine, which were the youngest mountain reliefs, produced 35 million years ago, where we find much steeper reliefs such as the Alps and the Himalayas.

Parts of the mountain

We can distinguish four parts of a mountain.

We start from the foot or base, which is the lowest part of the mountain. On the other hand, the top of the mountain, which is the highest part of the mountain and where it ends.

The slope or skirt of the mountain, which is the part that joins the foot and the top, and usually has an angle of inclination and slope.

And the valley, which is not really part of the mountain, but the terrain that joins two mountains.

Altitude

The altitude of the mountains defines the type of ecosystem that we find in them. Count more altitude, there will be a lower atmospheric pressure, which will imply a lower concentration of oxygen and humidity, lower temperatures, higher wind speeds and less sun protection.

As these characteristics occur in the upper areas of the mountain, the vegetation will be less sparse, there will not be as much food for the animals and they will be unpopulated areas.

In the higher parts of the mountains there is also a great change in temperature between day and night.

Here we show the tallest mountains divided by continents:

• Africa: Kilimanjaro (5895 meters)
• America: Aconcagua (6959 meters)
• Asia: Everest (8846 meters)
• Europe: Elbrus (5633 meters)
• Oceania: Jaya (5029 meters)

Everest is the highest mountain on the planet. It is a mountain that is constantly growing due to the collision of the plates that are under it.

It is located in the Himalayas where there are several of the highest mountains in the world.

Pending

The slope is the characteristic slopes of mountainous terrain. The shape of the slopes can vary depending on each mountain.

As we saw earlier, the younger mountains are steeper and more rugged. This, in terms of slope, means they have steep walls, rocky edges, and high peaks.

In older mountains, the slopes are more rounded with rounded hills.

Weather

As we indicate in the altitude, the higher the temperatures are decreasing. It is believed that it descends approximately 5 degrees for every 1000 meters of height. At higher altitudes, although the humidity drops, the rains increase due to the screen effect.

The screen effect, also known as the Föhn effect, arises when a warm air mass meets a mountain, and to get around the obstacle it has to ascend along its slope.

By increasing the height to which the warm air is, the temperature decreases causing the water vapor to cool and condense. This condensation causes clouds and precipitation, which are known as orographic rains.

The slopes of the mountain affected by the screen effect are known as windward. It may happen that while in the windward there are rains, in the leeward there is a warmer and drier climate. Causing that there are large temperature variations between the sides of the mountain-

On the windward slopes, as they have a higher concentration of humidity, we will find more vegetation, and therefore, the possibility that they are more habitable than the leeward slopes.

Vegetation

The vegetation of the mountains will vary depending on the height at which we are. As we mentioned before, at higher altitudes we have a lower concentration of oxygen, which is essential for the development of life.

In the lower part of the mountain, we can find vegetation similar to that found in the flat areas that surround it.

As we begin the climb up the mountain, the vegetation changes and we find different types of plants. Normally we find hygrophilous plants, they are plants that survive in humid and cold environments.

The vegetation that we find in the mountains also depends on the area in which we are, since the vegetation in the subpolar mountains will not be similar to the mountains that we find in the tropics.

In the upper part of the mountain, especially in the higher mountains, the vegetation is gradually disappearing, and at the peak or top, many of them are covered with snow throughout the year.

References

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2. GETIS, Arthur Getis, et al. Introduction to geography. 2011.
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4. FUNNELL, Don C.; PRICE, Martin F. Mountain geography: A review. The Geographical Journal, 2003, vol. 169, no 3, p. 183-190.
5. SOFFER, Arnon. Mountain geography: a new approach. Mountain Research and Development, 1982, p. 391-398.
6. PRICE, Martin F. Mountain geography: Physical and human dimensions. Univ of California Press, 2013.
7. HAEFNER, H.; SEIDEL, K.; EHRLER, H. Applications of snow cover mapping in high mountain regions. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 1997, vol. 22, no 3, p. 275-278.