What is a Mountain?

A mountain is a natural elevation of the earth’s surface rising more or less abruptly to a summit, and attaining an altitude greater than that of a hill, usually greater than 2000 ft.

A mountain has 4 main characteristics

1. High, rocky land

2. Steep sides

3. Pointed or rounded top

4. Higher than a hill

There is much confusion of what is the exact difference between a mountain and a hill.  Even some geologist can get very confused.  There are four different mountains are described in their definition.  The two main definitions that the United States use for a mountain are a land mass over 984 feet from ground to the peak of elevation or great than that heigh depending on the slope of the mountain.  It does get confusing!

When you think of the mountain landform, you may think of something gigantic and impressive.  Mountains are sure great to see, especially snow capped mountains.

There are many famous mountain landforms around the world.  Mount Everest is probably most famous.  Mount McKinley is another famous mountain. There are also famous mountain ranges, which is a group of mountains, like the Appalachian Mountains and the Cascade Mountains.

How is a Mountain Formed?

The most common way a mountain is formed is through plate tectonics.  The Earth has massive plates that float.  These plates can move under and over each other.  When one plate moves under another the plate, the other plate rises up to form a mountain.  After thousands of years, they mountains can get very high.

Did you know that some mountains are actually shrinking?  These mountains are done growing because the plates have stopped moving.  Through a process called erosion, these mountains lose some of their makings on the top and actually start to grow smaller.

Some mountains such as Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, is actually still growing!  Right now it about 29,092.  There is a mountain that is actually taller than Mount Everest but 2/3 of it is underwater.  This mountain is called Mauna Kea, which is part of Hawaii.

Mountains usually have grass and trees that grow on them. Many animals live in the mountain and adapt to the steep hills like mountain deer and goats.

Sometimes mountains are so high that the weather at the top is different than the weather at the bottom. It could be snowing at the top of the mountain and warm enough to swim at the bottom.

Many of the national parks in the United States have mountains. Two famous mouintains in the United States are the Rocky Mountain range in the west and the Appalachian Mountains in the east.

Located in the Himalayan Mountain Range, on the border of China and Nepal, the peak of Mount Everest is the highest point on earth. It towers 29,028 feet above sea level.

  Mount Everest is probably the world's most challenging mountain to climb. It was first ascended in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.

As of 2004, over 2,200 people had successfully reached the peak and 186 people had died trying.

Example of Mountain Landforms:
The Himalayan Mountains
The Cascade Mountains

The Rocky Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains

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