mountain: Quick Facts

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Photos and Videos

A car drives along the Trans-Canada Highway with Mount Sir Donald's sharp, snow-capped peak rising above forested slopes in the Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia.

Mount Triumph, Washington

Bearhat Mountain

Two diagrams illustrate continental collision. The top shows two continental crusts converging at a subduction zone, with oceanic crust and lithosphere beneath. The bottom shows the result: a new mountain range formed where the crusts collide, with the oceanic crust subducted below. Arrows indicate the direction of crust movement.

A simplified geological cross section of the Himalayas running north to south, showing the Ganga Basin as a foreland basin, crystalline rock overthrusting the Indian Plate, and a steep thrust fault ramp beneath the Great Himalayas, with labeled features including the Main Boundary Thrust, Main Central Thrust, ophiolites, and Kangdese granites.

Snow-capped Mount Fuji rises above a layer of mist, with a bridge and calm water in the foreground under a pink and blue sky in Japan.

St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park reflects surrounding Rocky Mountains, with small Wild Goose Island at the lake's center and evergreen trees in the foreground.

Dinaric Alps, Croatia

Understand how the age of mountains determine their types; young mountains and old mountains

The video thumbnail image shows a snowcapped mountain against a blue sky.

How is sea level measured?

How global warming increases the likelihood of avalanches

Know about the various factors that affect the height and overall size of the earth's mountains

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Topics

ridge mountain belt table mountain block-fault mountain The World’s Highest Mountains by Continent How are mountains formed?volcanic dome Is Mount Everest Really the Tallest Mountain in the World?nunatak mesa glacier glacial landform valley coastal landforms Desert Grassland tectonic basins and rift valleys playa beach Forest

Dig Deeper: More Articles That Discuss This Topic

Nature worship: Mountains

Key People

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Alfred Elis Törnebohm

Swedish geologist

Garden in front of Mao Zedong Memorial Hall where Mao's body rests in state at Tiananmen Square, one of the largest public squares in the world, Beijing, China. Near the Forbidden City. Mausoleum.

Largest, Tallest, and Smallest Around the Globe Quiz

Blue Ridge Mountains. Blue Ridge Parkway. Autumn in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina, United States. Appalachian Highlands, Ridge and Valley, The Appalachian Mountain system

All About Mountains Quiz

Mt. Elbrusvolcano, Western Caucasus mountain range, Russia. (dormant Russia)

Natural Wonders

Mountain. K2. Mount Godwin Austen. Karakoram Range. Baltoro Glacier. K2 is the world's second highest mountain, located on the border of Pakistan and China.

Mountain Ranges

Mount Everest, Himalayas, Nepal. (Himalayan Mountains; mountain range; mountain landscape; Mt. Everest)

Mount Everest