mountain

Introduction
Geomorphic characteristics
Tectonic processes that create and destroy mountain belts and their components
- Mechanisms that support elevated terrains
- Tectonic processes that produce high elevations
  - Volcanism
  - Crustal shortening
  - Heating and thermal expansion
- Tectonic processes that destroy elevated terrains
Major types of mountain belts
- Mountain belts associated with volcanism
  - Mid-ocean ridges and rises
  - Volcanic structures along subduction zones
  - Landforms associated with hot spot volcanism
- Mountain belts associated with crustal shortening
  - Alpine- (or Himalayan-)type belts
  - Andean-type belts
  - Intracontinental mountain belts
Major mountain belts of the world
- The Circum-Pacific System
  - The Andes
  - The Caribbean chains
  - The North American Cordillera
  - Volcanoes and island arcs surrounding the northwest Pacific basin
- The Alpine-Himalayan, or Tethyan, System
  - The Himalayan chain
  - The Zagros and Bitlis mountains
  - The western segment of the system
- Residual mountain ranges and thermally uplifted belts
Selected world mountains

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

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

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.

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.

World map with labeled continents and red location pins marking the highest mountain on each continent, titled "The highest mountain on each continent."

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.

At a Glance

Karakoram Range: K2 (Mount Godwin Austen)

mountain summary

Related Questions

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 Sir Donald Mount Sir Donald in the Selkirk Mountains, British Columbia, looms above a segment of the Trans-Canada Highway.

mountain

landform

Written by

Peter H. Molnar

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 9, 2026 •History

mountain, landform that rises prominently above its surroundings, generally exhibiting steep slopes, a relatively confined summit area, and considerable local relief. Mountains generally are understood to be larger than hills, but the term has no standardized geological meaning. Very rarely do mountains occur individually. In most cases, they are found in elongated ranges or chains. When an array of such ranges is linked together, it constitutes a mountain belt. For a list of selected mountains...

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