Mountains are the most picturesque regions of the globe. Majestic and beautiful are the peaks of the Tien Shan, Caucasus, Alps, sparkling with eternal snow, and the inaccessible snow-white mountains of the Himalayas; The harsh ridges of the Urals are also beautiful, crowned with intricately weathered rocks rising like watchtowers above the chaos of boulders; The green slopes and valleys of the Carpathians with fast-flowing rivers are beautiful.
Mountains attract people not only with their beauty. In their depths are hidden ore wealth, the extraction and use of which is associated with the cultural development of mankind. Fast mountain ones are a powerful source of energy. Clean mountain air and a variety of vegetables, which young mountains are especially rich in, restore the strength and health of sick and tired people.
You can get to know the structure of mountains quite well without laying boreholes or digging deep mines: the structure of mountains is revealed in gorges and on exposed slopes in river valleys.
Let's take a mental journey through the river valleys of the Northern Urals and get acquainted with the structure of this ridge. To cross the Northern Urals, you need to take a boat up one of the tributaries of the Pechora running from it, cross the mountain watershed on foot and go down on a raft along one of the rivers on the eastern slope belonging to the river basin. Obi. Along the banks of the Ural rivers there are picturesque rocks and exposed cliffs, or outcrops. You will see that they consist of sedimentary rocks: limestones, sandstones, conglomerates, clayey and siliceous shales. These rocks contain imprints and fossilized remains of extinct organisms; There are especially many of them in limestones.
Limestone deposits indicate that millions of years ago there was an open, shallow, warm sea, at the bottom of which marine animals with calcareous skeletons existed.
Sandstones with remains of marine organisms and with imprints of plants, which are visible here, were deposited in the area of the sea coast or sea islands, and sandstones and clays with remains of plants and freshwater were deposited in river or lake sediments. In the coastal outcrops of rivers on the western slope of the Urals, mainly layers of marine sediments appear.
The remains of organisms found in rocks make it possible not only to determine the conditions in which these rocks were formed, but also make it possible to determine which layers were deposited earlier and which later.
Geologists divide the history of the Earth into five major periods of time, or eras: Archaeozoic (era of ancient life), Proterozoic (era of primitive life), Paleozoic (era of ancient life), Mesozoic (era of middle life) and Cenozoic (era of new life). The duration of eras is measured in hundreds of millions of years. They, in turn, are divided into periods whose duration is measured in tens of millions of years.
The study of fossil remains of animals and plants found in the strata that make up the Ural ridge shows that they were deposited during the Paleozoic era of Earth's history. As you move east, layers of more and more ancient sediments from the Paleozoic era will appear in the coastal rocks of the Ural rivers.
Along the westernmost edge of the Urals, a strip of sediments formed in the last, Permian period of this era stretches from north to south. The rocks deposited at the beginning of the Permian period consist of sandstones, conglomerates and shales with marine fauna, and the sediments of the second half of the Permian period were formed not in the sea, but in rivers and lakes; they contain remains of plants, freshwater mollusks and fish, and in one outcrop on the shore of the Upper Pechora the bones of large extinct reptiles were found.
In the Polar Urals, in the basin of the Pechora River tributary. Mustache, among the Permian deposits there are numerous layers of coal. Here in 1926 prof. A. A. Chernov discovered the richest Pechora coal basin. Within the Upper Pechora, Permian deposits do not contain coal at all. But deposits of rock salt and valuable potassium salts were discovered here.
The thickness of Permian deposits on the western slope of the Northern Urals is very large; it reaches several kilometers.
Further east of the strip of Permian rocks in the foothills of the western slope of the Urals stretches a strip of deposits of the Carboniferous period that preceded the Permian. This is mainly with the remains of marine animals. In these regions of the Urals, the places are especially picturesque. Looking closely at the water-smoothed surface of the limestone, you can kind of look at the bottom of the Carboniferous, where you can see a variety of shells, large colonies of corals or entire layers of rocks consisting of segments of the stems of crinoids and the needles of sea urchins. Looking through a magnifying glass, you can see that it often consists entirely of tiny shells of rhizomes - foraminifera.
Among the sediments formed at the beginning of the Carboniferous period, in addition to limestone, there are layers of sandstone with plant remains, and in some places with layers of coal. This means that at that time there was a shallowing of the sea and in some places land appeared, covered with rich vegetation, which provided material for the formation of coal.
Behind the strip of Carboniferous limestone, an area of more ancient deposits appears - the Devonian and then the Silurian periods. They also consist partly of limestone, partly of sandstone. Among them there are siliceous and - monuments from deeper areas of the sea.
Examining the Paleozoic rocks protruding along the river banks, you will notice that the layers do not lie horizontally. Limestone layers in coastal cliffs usually tilt, or “dip,” in one direction or another at a smaller or larger angle to the horizon. Sometimes the layers stand vertically. These. inclined and vertical layers are parts of large, dilapidated folds. The sizes of the folds are very diverse: from the smallest, measured in centimeters, to the huge ones, tens of kilometers long, hundreds and thousands of meters wide. Such large folds can form high mountain ranges.
The most ancient and most altered sediments make up the main Ural ridge. Looking at the exposed rocks and screes on the tops of the Ural Mountains, you can see crystalline schists formed as a result of changes in sedimentary rocks, mica schists, and, less often, marbles. You can often see how these rocks are interbedded with greenschists of a different origin, formed due to the metamorphism of basaltic lavas.
It is believed that the ancient crystalline shales of the Urals belong to sediments of the Cambrian period and partly even of the Proterozoic era.
A number of peaks of the Ural Mountains consist of deep-seated igneous rocks: granites, gabbros, etc.
In the area of the ancient shales of the mountain strip, especially where granites and gabbro are common, there are various ore deposits for which the Urals are so famous. There are lead and zinc ores, and a number of other metals.
On the eastern slope of the Urals, an area of Paleozoic deposits opens up again. They will differ in abundance from sediments corresponding to their age on the western slope.
At the very edge of the eastern foothills of the Urals, on their border with the vast West Siberian Lowland, younger sediments formed during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras appear. These marine and continental sediments are covered by Quaternary rocks from the Ice Age. Unlike Paleozoic sediments, they lie horizontally.
What can be said about the origin of the Ural ridge based on what we saw while crossing it?
In what direction did the forces act that caused the folding? Oblique, overturned and recumbent folds in the mountains directly indicate in which direction the forces that crushed the layers acted. Such folds were undoubtedly formed under the influence of lateral, horizontal pressure. This pressure was most often one-sided, since in each mountainous region the folds usually overturn and lie in one predominant direction. On the western slope of the Urals, the folds are inclined and overturned to the west under the influence of pressure that came from the east. A straight fold can arise as a result of pressure both from the bottom up and acting from the sides, in the horizontal direction. This can be easily verified by simple experiment. If you put a stack of sheets of paper on the table, place a stick under it and lift it, the paper will bend; and forms a straight line anticlinal fold. The same fold can be obtained by carefully squeezing sheets of paper lying on the table from both sides with your hands. As you can see, folds are formed as a result of disruption of the original occurrence of layers. Such disturbances in the occurrence of earth layers are called dislocations.
As you can see, the Ural ridge is composed of a thick layer of sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age and almost exclusively of marine origin. Among the latter, in the mountain strip and on the eastern slope there are many erupted volcanic rocks. This indicates that in the place of the Urals in the Paleozoic there was a sea, at the bottom of which underwater eruptions and powerful outpourings of lavas occurred.
The thickness of Paleozoic deposits in the Urals is great; it reaches 10-12 km. How could a sediment layer of such enormous thickness be formed? This can only be explained by the fact that in the area of the sea basin located on the site of the present Urals, as sediment accumulated, the seabed sank.
At the end of the Paleozoic era, layers deposited over many millions of years were folded into folds and mighty mountain ranges rose from the bottom of the Ural Sea. Particularly significant uplifts occurred in the area of the current mountain strip.
The folds, which can be found in many outcrops of the Urals, have a rather complex structure. Geologists have long been interested in the conditions under which they form. For bending of thick layers of sandstones and limestones to occur, the rocks had to be in a particularly pliable, plastic state. On the surface of the earth, these rocks under the conditions familiar to us are rigid: they are not capable of giving smooth bends and must crack under the pressure of the internal forces of the Earth. Rocks acquire plasticity in the depths of the earth’s crust, so geologists concluded that folds, forming mountains, arise in the deep bowels of the Earth.
The formation of the Ural Mountains was accompanied by the introduction of molten water, which formed slowly cooling underground chambers. From these cooling centers, hot vapors and hot solutions rose and penetrated into the cracks of the surrounding rocks. The formation of those deposits of ores and precious stones for which the Urals is famous is associated with them. The destruction of the Ural ridge, which has continued for many millions of years, has revealed batholiths frozen in the depths, which are now protruding to the surface.
Getting acquainted with the history of the formation of the Urals, one can be convinced that in its place during the Paleozoic era there was an area of long-term subsidence, flooded. At the bottom of this sea, thick layers of sediment accumulated, capable of being crushed into folds. Such areas are called geosynclines. At the end of the Paleozoic (in the Permian period) and at the beginning of the Mesozoic (in the Triassic), large mountain-building processes took place in the Ural geosyncline and high mountain ranges arose.
The emergence of mountains in place of geosynclines is the basic law of mountain formation, which is confirmed by the study of any mountainous country.
After the processes of folding, intrusion of molten magma and mountain uplift are completed, the geosyncline changes its properties. It turns into a more stable, rigid region of the earth's crust, where folds can no longer appear, and under the pressure of mountain-building forces, the rocks split, cracks appear, along which the movement of layers is observed. This is how faults, grabens and horsts are formed. Regions of the Earth that are not capable of collapse are called platforms. They show slow uplifts of vast spaces, followed by slow downturns. The advances and retreats of the sea are associated with these fluctuations.
Fractures on platforms, leading to the formation of faults, occur under the influence of pressure coming from geosynclines. In some cases, the movement of faults reaches a large scale: horsts arise, raised to a height of 3-4 km. Fault ruptures still occur in many mountains on Earth. In the mountains of Central Asia, for example, there are often problems associated with ruptures of earth layers and the formation of faults.
Horst uplifts lead to the formation of mountain ranges in place of platforms. These mountains are called blocky(reborn), unlike folded(Urals, Caucasus, Alps), where folding processes play a major role.
Instructions
Scientists have long established that mountains appear in places where intense movements of the earth's plates occur. Many millions of years ago, tectonic plates crawled on top of each other and were compressed under enormous pressure into giant folds, breaking into cracks and faults. Thus, folded mountains, an example of which are the Appalachians, which have already lost their original height, and most of the Alps.
Vaulted or dome-shaped mountains arose in a slightly different way. These layers of rocks were bent upward by molten lava, which, under great pressure, rushed to the surface of the Earth. On these today you can see intruded masses of igneous rocks. An example of this is the Black Hills, located in the US state of Dakota.
Solid, or, as they are also called, block mountains, appeared as a result of failures or faults in the earth’s crust. Giant blocks began to move along the fault, falling inward or rising upward. This is how the Teton Range and the Sierra Nevada chain in America appeared.
Some single mountains, having a beautiful conical and symmetrical shape, were formed at the site of the volcano. During its eruption, magma, ash, and dirt settled on the surface. Over time, the lava solidified, forming a small hill, which became higher with each volcanic eruption. The beautiful Mount Fuji in Japan or Vesuvius in Italy were formed in a similar way. They are easily recognized by their cut off top, where the volcano's mouth is located.
Despite the apparent solidity and inviolability of the mountains, they tend to change and even change. Their soil is often washed away by streams of water and rain, and their slopes are destroyed by frozen water. Over time, even the peaks can turn into small hills and even, although this will take many millions of years.
The most beautiful mountain peaks, which thousands of tourists come to see, seem unique. Formed a thousand years ago, they still change their appearance to this day.
Mountains differ not only in their height, variety of landscape, size, but also in origin. There are three main types of mountains: block, fold and dome mountains.
How block mountains are formed
The earth's crust does not stand still, but is in constant motion. When cracks or faults of tectonic plates appear in it, huge masses of rock begin to move not in the longitudinal, but in the vertical direction. Part of the rock may fall, while the other part adjacent to the fault may rise. An example of the formation of block mountains is the Teton mountain range. This ridge is located in the state of Wyoming. On the eastern side of the ridge you can see sheer rocks that rose when the earth's crust fractured. On the other side of the Teton Range is a valley that has dropped down.
How fold mountains form
The parallel movement of the earth's crust leads to the appearance of folded mountains. The appearance of folded mountains can best be seen using the example of the famous Alps. The Alps arose as a result of the collision of the lithospheric plate of the continent of Africa and the lithospheric plate of the continent of Eurasia. For several million years, these plates were in contact with each other under enormous pressure. As a result, the edges of the lithospheric plates were crushed, forming giant folds, which over time were covered with faults. This is how one of the most majestic mountain ranges in the world was formed.
How dome-shaped mountains are formed
Inside the earth's crust there is hot magma. Magma, breaking upward under enormous pressure, lifts the rocks that lie above. This results in a dome-shaped bend of the earth's crust. Over time, wind erosion exposes the igneous rock. An example of dome-shaped mountains is the Drakensberg Mountains, located in South Africa. More than a thousand meters high, weathered igneous rock is clearly visible in it.
Mountains are not eternal, they are “born” and “age”, gradually turning into hills. But how are mountains formed, how do these majestic accumulations of stone giants appear?
As scientists have found out, mountains are formed, or were formed millions of years ago, in four different ways and, according to the method of formation, are folded, vaulted, solid or volcanic.
How fold mountains form
Fold mountains were formed as a result of pressure and compression of the earth's surface during tectonic movement of the earth's crust. They look like giant folds of rock layers. An example of fold mountains are the Alps.
How vaulted mountains are formed
Vaulted mountains are rocks that were raised above the surface of the Earth by molten lava as it moved outward from the bowels of the earth. Such mountains are characterized by the shape of the arch, which is why they are called that.
How are solid mountains formed?
Solid mountains were formed when entire sections of the earth's surface rose or fell during tectonic movement. Continuous mountain ranges (for example, the Sierra Nevada) are the result of faults or, conversely, failures in the earth's crust.
How are volcanic mountains formed?
Volcanic mountains are extinct or (for example, Vesuvius or Fuji). They consist of lava ejected from ash from volcanic eruptions and have a conical shape.
These are the main ways mountains are formed, but many mountains are the result of their combination during tectonic movement of layers of the earth's crust.
Hello friends! So, today I have prepared for you material on the topic of mountain formation, as well as a table of the highest mountains in the world by continent, which you can see at the end of the article. Well, let's find out what mountains are, how they are formed and how to distinguish them...
There were times when mountains were considered a mysterious and dangerous place. However, many of the mysteries associated with the appearance of mountains have been unraveled in the last two decades thanks to the revolutionary theory of lithospheric plate tectonics.
Mountains are elevated areas of the earth's surface that rise steeply above the surrounding area.
Peaks in the mountains, unlike plateaus, occupy a small area. Mountains can be classified according to different criteria:
- Geographical location and age, taking into account their morphology;
- Features of the structure, taking into account the geological structure.
In the first case, mountains are divided into mountain systems, cordilleras, single mountains, groups, chains, and ridges.
The name Cordillera comes from the Spanish word meaning "chain". Cordilleras include groups of mountains, ranges and mountain systems of different ages.
In western North America, the Cordillera region includes the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, Cascade Mountains, Rocky Mountains, and many small ranges between the Sierra Nevada of Nevada and Utah and the Rocky Mountains.
The cordilleras of Central Asia (you can read more about this part of the world) include, for example, the Tien Shan, Kanlun and the Himalayas. Mountain systems consist of groups of mountains and ranges that are similar in origin and age (the Appalachians, for example).
The ridges consist of mountains that stretch in a long, narrow strip. Single mountains, usually of volcanic origin, are found in many areas of the globe.
Second classification mountains is compiled taking into account endogenous processes of relief formation.
Volcanic mountains.
Volcanic cones are common in almost all areas of the globe.
They are formed by accumulations of rock fragments and lava erupted through vents by forces that operate deep within the Earth.
Illustrative examples of volcanic cones are Shasta in California, Fuji in Japan, Mayon in the Philippines, and Popocatepetl in Mexico.
Ash cones have a similar structure, but they consist mainly of volcanic scoria, and they are not so tall. Such cones exist in northeastern New Mexico and near Lassen Peak.
During repeated eruptions of lava, shield volcanoes form (read more about volcanoes). They are somewhat not as tall and they do not have such a symmetrical structure as volcanic cones.
There are many shield volcanoes in the Aleutian and Hawaiian Islands. Chains of volcanoes occur in long narrow strips.
Where the plates that lie along the ridges stretching along the ocean floor diverge, magma, trying to fill the crevice, rises upward, eventually forming new crystalline rock.
Sometimes magma accumulates on the seabed - thus, underwater volcanoes appear, and their peaks rise above the surface of the water like islands.
If two plates collide, one of them lifts the second, and the latter, being pulled deep into the oceanic basin, melts into magma, part of which is pushed to the surface, creating chains of islands of volcanic origin: for example, Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines arose this way.
The most popular chain of such islands is these are the Hawaiian Islands, 1600 km long. These islands were formed by the northwestward movement of the Pacific plate over a crustal hot spot. Hot spot of the earth's crust - this is where a hot mantle flow rises to the surface and melts the oceanic crust moving above it.
If you count from the surface of the ocean, where the depth is about 5500 m, then some of the peaks of the Hawaiian Islands will be among the highest mountains in the world.
Fold mountains.
Most experts today believe that the cause of folding is the pressure that occurs during the drift of tectonic plates.
The plates on which the continents rest move only a few centimeters a year, but their convergence causes the rocks on the edges of these plates and the layers of sediment on the ocean floor that separate the continents to gradually rise up in the ridges of mountain ranges.
Heat and pressure are formed during the movement of plates, and under their influence some layers of rock are deformed, lose strength and, like plastic, bend into giant folds, while others, stronger or not so heated, break and are often torn off from their base.
During the mountain building stage, heat also leads to the appearance of magma near the layer that underlies the continental areas of the earth's crust(more information about the earth's crust).
Huge areas of magma rise and solidify to form the granite core of the folded mountains.
Evidence of past continental collisions - These are old folded mountains that have stopped growing a long time ago, but have not yet collapsed.
For example, in the east of Greenland, in the northeast of North America, in Sweden, in Norway, in the west of Scotland and Ireland, they appeared at a time when Europe (more about this part of the world) and North America (more about this continent), converged and became one huge continent.
This huge mountain chain, due to the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, was torn apart later, about 100 million years ago.
At first, many large mountain systems were folded, but during further development their structure became significantly more complex.
Zones of initial folding are limited by geosynclinal belts - huge troughs in which sediments accumulated, mainly in shallow oceanic formations.
Often folds are visible in mountainous areas on exposed cliffs, but not only there. Synclinals (troughs) and anticlines (saddles) are the simplest of folds. Some folds are overturned (recumbent).
Others are displaced relative to their base so that the upper parts of the folds move out - sometimes by several kilometers, and they are called nappes.
Block mountains.
Many large mountain ranges were formed as a result of tectonic uplift that occurred along faults in the earth's crust.
Sierra Nevada Mountains in California - it is a huge horst with a length of about 640 km and a width of 80 to 120 km.
The eastern edge of this horst has been raised the highest, where Mount Whitney reaches 418 m above sea level.
Much of the modern appearance of the Appalachians was the result of several processes: the original folded mountains were subject to denudation and erosion, and then rose along faults.
The Great Basin contains a series of block mountains between the Sierra Nevada Mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east.
Long narrow valleys lie between the ridges; they are partially filled with sediments brought from adjacent blocky mountains.
Domed mountains.
In many areas, areas of land that have undergone tectonic uplift have taken on a mountainous appearance under the influence of erosion processes.
In those areas where the uplift occurred over a relatively small area and was of a dome-like nature, dome-shaped mountains formed. The Black Hills are a prime example of such mountains, which are about 160 km across.
The area was subject to dome uplift and much of the sedimentary cover was removed by further denudation and erosion.
The central core was exposed as a result. It consists of metamorphic and igneous rocks. It is surrounded by ridges that consist of more resistant sedimentary rocks.
Remnant plateaus.
Due to the action of erosion-denudation processes, a mountain landscape is formed on the site of any elevated territory. Its appearance depends on its original height.
When a high plateau like Colorado, for example, was destroyed, a highly dissected mountainous terrain was formed.
The Colorado Plateau, hundreds of kilometers wide, was raised to a height of about 3000 m. Erosion-denudation processes have not yet had time to completely transform it into a mountain landscape, but within some large canyons, for example the Grand Canyon of the river. Colorado, mountains several hundred meters high arose.
These are erosional remains that have not yet been denuded. With the further development of erosion processes, the plateau will acquire an increasingly pronounced mountain appearance.
In the absence of repeated uplift, any territory will eventually be leveled and turn into a plain.
Erosion.
Already at the time when mountains grow, the process of their destruction begins. In the mountains, erosion is especially severe because the mountain slopes are steep and the effects of gravity are most powerful.
As a result, blocks destroyed by frost roll down and are carried away by glaciers or the stormy waters of mountain streams rushing through deep gorges.
It is all these forces of nature, together with plate tectonics, that form the impressive mountain landscape.
Table of the highest mountains in the world by continent
|
Mountain peaks |
Absolute height, m |
|
Europe |
|
| Elbrus, Russia |
5642 |
| Dikhtau, Russia |
5203 |
| Kazbek, Russia - Georgia |
5033 |
| Mont Blanc, France |
4807 |
| Dufour, Switzerland - Italy |
4634 |
| Weisshorn, Switzerland |
4506 |
| Matterhorn, Switzerland |
4478 |
| Bazarduzu, Russia - Azerbaijan |
4466 |
| Finsterarhorn, Switzerland |
4274 |
| Jungfrau, Switzerland |
4158 |
| Dombay-Ulgen (Dombay-Elgen), Russia - Georgia |
4046 |
|
Asia |
|
| Qomolangma (Everest), China - Nepal |
8848 |
| Chogori (K-2, Godui-Austen), India - China |
8611 |
| Kanchenjunga, Nepal - China |
8598 |
| Lhotse, Nepal - China |
8501 |
| Makalu, China - Nepal |
8481 |
| Dhaulagari, Nepal |
8172 |
| Manaslu, Nepal |
8156 |
| Chopu, China |
8153 |
| Nanga Parbat, Kashmir |
8126 |
| Annapurna, Nepal |
8078 |
| Gasherbrum, Kashmir |
8068 |
| Shishabangma, China |
8012 |
| Nandadevi, India |
7817 |
| Rakaposhi, Kashmir |
7788 |
| Kamet, India |
7756 |
| Namchabarw, China |
7756 |
| Gurla Mandhata, China |
7728 |
| Ulugmustag, China |
7723 |
| Kongur, China |
7719 |
| Tarichmir, Pakistan |
7690 |
| Gungashan (Minyak-Gankar), China |
7556 |
| Kula Kangri, China - Bhutan |
7554 |
| Muztagata, China |
7546 |
| Communism Peak, Tajikistan |
7495 |
| Pobeda Peak, Kyrgyzstan - China |
7439 |
| Jomolhari, Bhutan |
7314 |
| Lenin Peak, Tajikistan - Kyrgyzstan |
7134 |
| Korzhenevskaya Peak, Tajikistan |
7105 |
| Khan Tengri Peak, Kyrgyzstan |
6995 |
| Kangrinboche (Kailas), China |
6714 |
| Khakaborazi, Myanmar |
5881 |
| Damavand, Iran |
5604 |
| Bogdo-Ula, China |
5445 |
| Ararat, Türkiye |
5137 |
| Jaya, Indonesia |
5030 |
| Mandala, Indonesia |
4760 |
| Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Russia |
4750 |
| Trikora, Indonesia |
4750 |
| Ushba, Georgia |
4695 |
| Belukha, Russia |
4506 |
| Munhe-Khairkhan-Uul, Mongolia |
4362 |
|
Africa |
|
| Kilimanjaro, Tanzania |
5895 |
| Kenya, Kenya |
5199 |
| Rwenzori, Congo (DRC) - Uganda |
5109 |
| Ras Dashen, Ethiopia |
4620 |
| Elgon, Kenya-Uganda |
4321 |
| Toubkal, Morocco |
4165 |
| Cameroon, Cameroon |
4100 |
|
Australia and Oceania |
|
| Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea |
4509 |
| Giluwe, Papua New Guinea |
4368 |
| Mauna Kea, o. Hawaii |
4205 |
| Mauna Loa, o. Hawaii |
4169 |
| Victoria, Papua New Guinea |
4035 |
| Capella, Papua New Guinea |
3993 |
| Alewert Edward, Papua New Guinea |
3990 |
| Kosciusko, Australia |
2228 |
|
North America |
|
| McKinley, Alaska |
6194 |
| Logan, Canada |
5959 |
| Orizaba, Mexico |
5610 |
| St. Elijah, Alaska - Canada |
5489 |
| Popocatepetl, Mexico |
5452 |
| Foraker, Alaska |
5304 |
| Iztaccihuatl, Mexico |
5286 |
| Lukenia, Canada |
5226 |
| Bona, Alaska |
5005 |
| Blackburn, Alaska |
4996 |
| Sanford, Alaska |
4949 |
| Wood, Canada |
4842 |
| Vancouver, Alaska |
4785 |
| Churchill, Alaska |
4766 |
| Fereeter, Alaska |
4663 |
| Bear, Alaska |
4520 |
| Hunter, Alaska |
4444 |
| Whitney, California |
4418 |
| Elbert, Colorado |
4399 |
| Massive, Colorado |
4396 |
| Harvard, Colorado |
4395 |
| Rainier, Washington |
4392 |
| Nevado de Toluca, Mexico |
4392 |
| Williamson, California |
4381 |
| Blanca Peak, Colorado |
4372 |
| La Plata, Colorado |
4370 |
| Uncompahgre Peak, Colorado |
4361 |
| Creston Peak, Colorado |
4357 |
| Lincoln, Colorado |
4354 |
| Grays Peak, Colorado |
4349 |
| Antero, Colorado |
4349 |
| Evans, Colorado |
4348 |
| Longs Peak, Colorado |
4345 |
| White Mountain Peak, California |
4342 |
| North Palisade, California |
4341 |
| Wrangel, Alaska |
4317 |
| Shasta, California |
4317 |
| Sill, California |
4317 |
| Pikes Peak, Colorado |
4301 |
| Russell, California |
4293 |
| Split Mountain, California |
4285 |
| Middle Palisade, California |
4279 |
|
South America |
|
| Aconcagua, Argentina |
6959 |
| Ojos del Salado, Argentina |
6893 |
| Bonete, Argentina |
6872 |
| Bonete Chico, Argentina |
6850 |
| Mercedario, Argentina |
6770 |
| Huascaran, Peru |
6746 |
| Llullaillaco, Argentina - Chile |
6739 |
| Erupaja, Peru |
6634 |
| Galan, Argentina |
6600 |
| Tupungato, Argentina - Chile |
6570 |
| Sajama, Bolivia |
6542 |
| Coropuna, Peru |
6425 |
| Illhampu, Bolivia |
6421 |
| Illimani, Bolivia |
6322 |
| Las Tortolas, Argentina - Chile |
6320 |
| Chimborazo, Ecuador |
6310 |
| Belgrano, Argentina |
6250 |
| Toroni, Bolivia |
5982 |
| Tutupaka, Chile |
5980 |
| San Pedro, Chile |
5974 |
|
Antarctica |
|
| Vinson array |
5140 |
| Kirkpatrick |
4528 |
| Markham |
4351 |
| Jackson |
4191 |
| Sidley |
4181 |
| Minto |
4163 |
| Verterkaka |
3630 |
Well, dear friends, now we have found out the process of formation of mountains, learned their main types and characteristics of each of them, and also examined the highest mountains in the world in the table.
I think everyone who has not been to the mountains should definitely go there at least once. Only by rising to a height, even if not very great, can you enjoy a real sense of freedom. The world looks completely different from the top of the mountain. How did nature create all this beauty? I’ll tell you a little about how mountains are formed, which so attract with their beauty and grandeur.
How mountains are formed
Depending on how the mountains were educated, they can be divided into 3 types:
- tectonic;
- volcanic;
- erosive.
Tectonic mountains formed by collisions of lithospheric plates. During this process, so-called folds appear on the surface of the earth. Such formations are called fold mountains. Over time, under the influence of natural forces, cracks and faults form in such mountains. If repeated displacement occurs, the folds of the mountains may lower or rise. Such mountains are already called folded-block.
It's easy to guess that volcanic mountains became a consequence volcanic eruptions. There are areas on our planet where a whole chain of volcanoes has formed. This indicates high volcanic activity.
Erosive type of mountains formed due to active destruction of strata plains and plateaus with fast flows of water. In such mountains they are often found canyons. Typically, eroded mountains are part of mountain ranges.
The appearance of mountains depends not only on how they were formed, but also on the age, type of rock, as well as on various types of influences of the planet itself.
Mountain height
Many people do not consider hills less than 2000 m to be mountains, but in fact mountains can be even higher in height. up to 800 m. They are called low mountains. Medium-height mountains are those that rise 800–3000 meters above sea level. It turns out that the peak of Rose Peak with a height of 2320 m belongs specifically to mid-mountain.
Mountains are considered taller than 3000 meters. As a rule, their age is young, and the relief is actively changing. It is believed that mountains do not like the weak and cowards. People who have made more than one trip to the mountain peaks together become best friends.