释义 |
mountains
mountains- massif - A compact group of mountains or a mountain range section; it first meant "building block" and the word massive is derived from that.
- Idaho - Shoshone for "light on mountains."
- orogenesis, orogeny - Orogenesis is the formation of mountains (Greek oros) and orogeny is the process by which mountains are formed.
- ultramontane - Means "beyond the mountains."
MountainsSee also geography; heights; volcanoes. acrophiliaa love of high mountains and of heights. — acrophile, n.alpinismthe climbing of the Alps or any equally high mountain ranges. — alpinist, n.orogenesisthe process of the formation of mountains. Also called orogeny. — orogenic, adj.orography, oreographyPhysical Geography. the study of mountains and mountain systems. — orographic, oreographic, oreographical, orographical, adj.orology, oreologythe scientific study of mountains. — orologist, oreologist, n. — orological, oreological, adj.orometrythe measurement of mountains. — orometric, adj.orophilousBotany. referring to orophytes, a class of plants growing on mountains below the timberline.Mountains See Also: LANDSCAPES, NATURE - Cropped, long-faced hills that bristled with pine like so many unshaven cheeks —T. Coraghessan Boyle
- The hills here are long and blue, like paintings —Bobbie Ann Mason
- Hills like breasts —Karl Shapiro
- The hillside is dotted with white plum trees like puffs of smoke —Colette
- Hills … lay there like a herd of drowsing buffalo —Yitzhak Shenhar
- Hills … like a young girl’s breasts —William Boyd
- Hills rose up like bubbles —Phyllis Bottome
- Like an enormous landscape lay the mountain —Delmore Schwartz
- Mountains … like crouching camels —Milton Raison
- Mountains like puffs of smoke —George Garrett
- The mountains rolled like whales through the phosphorous stars —Derek Walcott
- The mountains rose like worn, dark-skinned fists —Carlos Fuentes
- Mountains, stretching themselves like great luxurious cats in the sunshine —Hugh Walpole
- Mountains … unreal like movie props —John Rechy
- The mountains were jagged like a page ripped out of a book —Kate Grenville
- The mountains were just visible, dusky and black, like waves of charcoal —John Fowles
- The mountain tops were whitened by moonlight like crests of waves —Lee Smith
- The mountain was shining like glass in color —Paul Horgan
- The scenery is funny little hills shaped like scoops of ice cream —Bobbie Ann Mason
- The hills are … ribbed like the remains of antediluvian breasts stretched across the horizon —T. Coraghessan Boyle
- To live in mountains is like living with someone who always talks at the top of his, or it may be her, voice —Leonard Woolf
- Tree-covered folds in the mountains … lying like a gigantic crumpled velvet rug —John Fowles
Translations- I'd like a room with a view of the mountains → 我想要一间能看到山景的房间
IdiomsSeemountainMountains
Vindhya Range, Mountains a mountain range in central India: separates the Ganges basin from the Deccan, marking the limits of northern and peninsular India. Greatest height: 1113 m (3651 ft.) Mountains (tectonic mountains), sections of the earth’s surface that are raised high above the adjacent plains and show within them considerable and abrupt variations in elevation. Mountains are confined to mobile areas of the earth’s crust having a folded structure. They extend for many hundreds and even thousands of kilometers in the form of comparatively narrow zones. the so-called geosynclinal belts. Because mountains are formed as the result of complex tectonic crystal disturbances, they are frequently called tectonic mountains. Depending on the nature of crustal deformations. tectonic mountains are classified into the following types: folded, block, and folded-block. Folded mountains occur in geosynclinal systems that were initially sea basins with subsiding bottoms on which beds of sedimentary rock many kilometers thick accumulated. These beds are then collapsed into folds and penetrated by intrusions of magma. and the entire young folded zone experiences an uplift that leads to the formation of mountains. Usually in the early stages of development, and sometimes also in later stages. the relief of mountains corresponds to tectonic structures; mountain ranges correspond to anticlines and anticlinoria, and longitudinal valleys correspond to synclines and synclinoria. This correspondence may be disturbed later. Block mountains occur in the more ancient folded regions that have experienced repeated mountain-forming processes. These sectors of the earth’s crust are usually broken into individual blocks, some of which are uplifted in the form of horsts and form mountain ranges and massifs, while others sink in the form of grabens that develop into intermontane troughs and tectonic valleys. Most often, however, one encounters folded-block mountains in which folding and fractures are equally significant in the formation of the relief. Mountains stretch in a straight line (the Pyrenees and the Greater Caucasus) or form arcs of various radii of curvature (the Carpathians. Alps, and Himalayas) and in some cases may reach elevations of 6,000 m, 7,000 m. 8.000 m, and more above sea level. The highest peak in the world, Chomolungma (Everest) in the Himalayas, has an elevation of 8.848 m. while the highest peak in the USSR. Communism Peak in the northwestern Pamir, is 7.495 m. The observed limitation on mountain elevations was first noted at the end of the 19th century by the German scientist A. Penck, who introduced the concept of the upper level of denudation, or the summit plain. However, the causes of this phenomenon still remain unclear. Mountains are separated from the adjacent plains by a closed line formed by the foot of the mountains. This line is not always sharply expressed: sometimes a transitional zone develops between the plain and the mountains in the form of a rocky train composed of the products of mountain decomposition, and sometimes there is a zone of foothills. Tectonic processes, river erosion. and the action of glaciers dissect mountains into mountain chains and ranges, intermontane tectonic depressions and highly uplifted peneplanation planes, longitudinal valleys (coinciding with the strike of the chains) and transverse valleys, and peaks and saddle passes. On the basis of the pattern formed by these relief elements the following types of horizontal dissection of mountains are distinguished: parallel, feathered, radial, imbricate, branching (virgation). and lattice-like. By their morphology mountains are divided into three types: low mountains (or hills), medium-elevation mountains. and high (or alpine) mountains. In low mountains the amplitudes of elevations are so small that vertical zoning of vegetation is absent or weakly expressed (for example, the Badkhyz and Karabil’ in southern Turkmenia and the Kazakh Hills). Medium-elevation mountains are mountains that usually have not experienced glaciation; they have soft rounded profiles in the parts near the summits and marked vertical belts (the southern and middle Urals and the Carpathians). High mountains rise above the current snow line and have experienced more intensive glaciation in the past and are therefore characterized by pointed and sharp shapes in the summit parts, created by glacial action (the Caucasus and the Alps). The division of mountains into low. medium, and high does not. as one might think judging by the terminology, describe the absolute elevation of the mountains. There are no uniform and generally accepted elevation lines that would make possible the division of the mountains of the entire world into such categories because these elevation lines change depending on the geographical latitude and the climate. Therefore, for example, forms of glacial morphology (alpine relief) are developed in the Polar Urals despite the fact that elevations there do not exceed 1,500 m, whereas in the mountains of East Africa, where arid climatic conditions exist, glacial relief forms are located at elevations of about 5,000 m. Mountain types depend on the relationships between antagonistic factors that change with time, such as tectonic uplifts and the combined action of exogenous processes (denudation). Ascending or descending development of the relief of mountains occurs depending on which of these groups of forces predominates. With ascending development the effect of tectonic uplift is greater than the effect of destructive forces: the mountains “grow,” the depth of erosional dissection increases, rivers are characterized by ungraded longitudinal profiles. steep and sharp relief forms are created, and the products of mountain decomposition are rapidly removed under the influence of gravity from the places in which they formed, resulting in a large degree of slope denudation. especially under the conditions of sharply continental desert climates. If exogenous factors predominate over the uplift, descending development begins: the mountains become lower, washdown processes are weakened, slopes become more gentle. the contrast of the relief is smoothed out, the longitudinal profile of rivers grows more level, and accumulative formations develop intensively. In this way mountains that had the alpine type of relief may be transformed into medium-elevation mountains, and medium-elevation mountains may be transformed into low ones. During a period of uplift mountains experience ascending development: then with the cessation or weakening of the uplift a period of descending development begins. A large part in the morphology of some mountains is played by the results of volcanic activity, both in the current age and in earlier ages of earth history. This volcanic activity includes lava flows and sheets, volcanic cones, and the like. which sometimes occupy vast areas (for example, the Armenian Highland. the Columbia Plateau, and other highlands and plateaus). The concept of the morphological age of mountains. which enables us to judge the history of the geological development of mountains. is linked with their morphology. Thus, the Tien-Shan. which arose as a folded mountain area mainly at the end of the Paleozoic, experienced a prolonged period of descending development during the Mesozoic and was virtually transformed into a plain (peneplain). This completed the first cycle of its morphological development. During the age of alpine orogenesis the Tien-Shan experienced a powerful secondary uplift. and broad. flat folds complicated by fractures were formed. A rejuvenation of the relief began. It ended in the Anthropogenic period when the forms of glacial morphogenesis were created in its summit parts. The Tien-Shan was transformed into a high-mountain area with alpine relief, and traces of the first morphological cycle are seen in it only in a few places where shreds of the Mesozoic peneplain (syrty-elevated watersheds), which was uplifted to 3,6004,000 m, are preserved. Thus, the Tien-Shan mountains in a morphological sense are young and still continue in the stage of ascending development, although geologically speaking they were formed long ago. Therefore, in addition to the morphological age of mountains, one should also distinguish the geological age, by which is meant the time of the first uplift of the mountains from the geosyncline and occurrence of folded structure in them. In accordance with the main mountain-forming ages that have occurred in earth history, mountains of Baikalian (end of the Proterozoic), Caledonian (first half of the Paleozoic), Hercynian (second half of the Paleozoic), Mesozoic, and Alpine (Cenozoic) geological age are distinguished. Mountains that have been uplifted from geosynclines, epigeosynclinal mountains, are young in both the geological and morphological senses (for example, the Alps, Carpathians, and the Caucasus). In distinction from them, mountains that have gone through an age of breaking down and peneplain formation and have again been uplifted as the result of tectonic activation of the earth’s crust are called rejuvenated or epiplatform mountains (the Altai, Tien-Shan, and Rocky Mountains). Among the rejuvenated mountains some investigators (V. E. Khain, USSR) distinguish peri-geosynclinal mountains, which are located on the periphery of young folded mountains, and perioceanic, which are located along the periphery of oceanic troughs. Table 1. Best-known mountain peaks and volcanoes in the world |
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Name, location | Elevation (m) |
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EUROPE | Ai-Petri, Crimean Mountains.................... | 1.233 | Aletschhorn, Alps.................... | 4,195 | Aneto, Pico de, Pyrenees.................... | 3,404 | Ben Nevis, Great Britain.................... | 1.343 | Bernina Peak, Alps.................... | 4,049 | Blanc, Mount, Alps.................... | 4,807 | Bobotov Kuk, Dinaric Alps.................... | 2,522 | Botev Peak, Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains).................... | 2,376 | Brocken, Harz.................... | 1.142 | Chasnachorr, Khibiny.................... | 1,191 | Cinto, Mount, Corsica.................... | 2,710 | Corno, Apennines.................... | 2,914 | Dore Mountains, French Central Massif.................... | 1,886 | Dufourspitze, Alps.................... | 4,634 | Etna, Sicily.................... | 3,340 | Finsteraarhorn, Alps.................... | 4,274 | Galdhøpiggen, Scandinavian Uplands.................... | 2,469 | Gerlachovka, Carpathians.................... | 2,655 | Goverla, Carpathians.................... | 2,061 | Gran Paradiso, Alps.................... | 4.061 | Grossglockner, Alps.................... | 3,797 | Hekla, Iceland.................... | 1.491 | Hvannadalshnúkur, Iceland.................... | 2,119 | lamantau, Urals.................... | 1.640 | Ida, Crete.................... | 2,456 | Jungfrau, Alps.................... | 4,158 | Kebnekaise, Scandinavian Uplands.................... | 2,123 | Matterhorn, Alps.................... | 4,477 | Mulhacen, Sierra Nevada (Iberian Peninsula).................... | 3,478 | Musala, Rlia Mountains (Bulgaria).................... | 2,925 | Narodnaia, Urals.................... | 1,894 | Newton, Spitsbergen.................... | 1.712 | Olympus, Olympic Mountains (Balkan Peninsula).................... | 2,911 | Parnassos, Parnassos Mountains (Balkan Peninsula).................... | 2,457 | Perdido, Mount, Pyrenees.................... | 3,355 | Roman-Kosh, Crimean Mountains.................... | 1,545 | Snezka, Sudetes.................... | 1.602 | Stromboli, Lipari Islands.................... | 926 | Triglav, Alps.................... | 2,863 | Vesuvius, Apennine Peninsula.................... | 1.277 | Viso, Mount, Alps.................... | 3,841 | Vulcano, Lipari Islands.................... | 499 | Weisshorn, Alps.................... | 4,505 | ASIA | Alaid, Atlasov Island (Kuril Islands).................... | 2,339 | Anai Mudi, Western Ghats.................... | 2,698 | Annapurna, Himalayas.................... | 8,078 | Apo, Mindanao (Philippines).................... | 2,965 | Aragats, Lesser Caucasus.................... | 4,090 | Asahi, Hokkaido.................... | 2,290 | Avachinskaia Sopka, Kamchatka Peninsula.................... | 2,741 | Belukha, Altai.................... | 4,506 | Bogdo-Ula, Tien-Shan.................... | 5,445 | Broad, Karakoram.................... | 8,047 | Chomolungma (Everest), Himalayas.................... | 8,848 | Chong-Karlyktag (Monomakh’s Cap), Kunlun.................... | 7,720 | Cho Oyu, Himalayas.................... | 8,189 | Cilo Daği, Hakari Mountains.................... | 4,168 | Communism Peak, Pamir.................... | 7,495 | Dankov Peak, Tien-Shan.................... | 5,982 | Demavend, Elburz Mountains.................... | 5,604 | Demirkazik, Taurus.................... | 3,726 | Dhaulagiri, Himalayas.................... | 8,221 | Dykhtau, Greater Caucasus.................... | 5,203 | El’brus, Greater Caucasus.................... | 5,633 | Enkh-Taivan, Khangai.................... | 3,905 | Erciyes Daği, Anatolian Plateau.................... | 3,770 | Fuji, Mount, Honshu.................... | 3,776 | Gasherbrum, Karakoram.................... | 8,035 | Godwin Austen, Karakoram.................... | 8,611 | Gosainthan, Himalayas.................... | 8,013 | Great Ararat, Armenian Highland.................... | 5,165 | Hazar, Iranian Uplands.................... | 4,420 | Hidden (Gasherbrum I), Karakoram.................... | 8,068 | Hodür Shu’ayb, Arabian Peninsula.................... | 3,600 | Ikhe-Bogdo (Barun-Bogdo-Ula), Gobi Altai.................... | 3,957 | Kaçkar, Pontic Mountains.................... | 3,937 | Kamen’, Putorana Mountains (Central Siberian Plateau).................... | 1.701 | Kanchenjunga, Himalayas.................... | 8,585 | Karakol’skii Peak, Tien-Shan.................... | 5,216 | Karl Marx Peak, Pamir.................... | 6,726 | Kazbek, Greater Caucasus.................... | 5,047 | Kerintji, Sumatra.................... | 3,800 | Khan-Tengri, Tien-Shan.................... | 6,995 | Kinabalu, Borneo.................... | 4,101 | Kliuchevskaia Sopka, Kamchatka Peninsula.................... | 4,750 | Kodar, Stanovoe Uplands.................... | 2,999 | Kontalakskii Golets, lablonovyi Range.................... | 1.702 | Koriakskaia Sopka, Kamchatka Peninsula.................... | 3,456 | Korzhenevskii Peak, Pamir.................... | 7,105 | Krakatoa, Malay Archipelago.................... | 813 | Kronotskaia Sopka. Kamchatka Peninsula.................... | 3,528 | Kuju, Kyushu.................... | 1.788 | Kungkashan (Minya Konka), Sino-Tibetan Mountains.................... | 7,590 | Kungur, Kunlun.................... | 7,579 | Kutang, Himalayas.................... | 8,126 | Kyzyl-Taiga, Zapadnyi Saian.................... | 3,121 | Lenin Peak, Pamir-Alai.................... | 7,134 | Lhotse, Himalayas.................... | 8,545 | Lopatin, Mount, Sakhalin Island.................... | 1,609 | Makalu, Himalayas.................... | 8,470 | Mayakovsky Peak, Pamir.................... | 6,096 | Mayon, Luzon (Philippines).................... | 2,421 | Mihrabi, Turkmen-Khurasan Mountains.................... | 3,314 | Munkh-Khairkhan, Mongolian Altai.................... | 4,362 | Munku-Sardyk, Vostochnyi Saian.................... | 3,491 | Mus-Khaia, Suntar-Khaiata (Verkhoiansk Mountain Region).................... | 2,959 | Muztagh Ata, Kunlun.................... | 7,555 | Nairamdal (Khyitun), Mongolian Altai.................... | 4,356 | Nanga Parbat, Himalayas.................... | 8,126 | Nyenchen Tanglha, Trans-Himalayas.................... | 7,088 | Pait’oushan, Manchurian-Korean Mountains.................... | 2,744 | Pidurutalagala, Ceylon.................... | 2,524 | Pobeda, Cherskii Mountains............ | 3,147 | Pobeda Peak, Tien-Shan............... | 7,439 | Pulog, Luzon (Philippines).............. | 2,928 | Qurnet es Sauda, Lebanon Mountains................. | 3,083 | Rantekombola, Celebes (Malay Archipelago)....................... | 3,455 | Revolution Peak, Pamir.............. | 6,974 | Saramati, Patkai Range (southern Asia)...................... | 3,824 | Savalan, Iranian Uplands................................ | 4,821 | Semeru, Java (Malay Archipelago)......................... | 3,676 | Shiveluch, Kamchatka Peninsula.............................. | 3,283 | Shkhara, Greater Caucasus............................. | 5,058 | Skalistii Golets, Stanovoi Range........................... | 2,412 | Suphan, Armenian Highland........................... | 4,434 | Taftan, Iranian Uplands.......................... | 4,042 | Taipaishan, Tsinling Mountains......................... | 4,107 | Talgar, Tien-Shan...................... | 4,973 | Tambora, Sumbawa (Malay Archipelago)................. | 2,821 | Tirich Mir, Hindu Kush............................. | 7,690 | Topko, Dzhugdzhur........................ | 1,906 | Tordoki-lani, Sikhote-Alin’............................. | 2,077 | Ulugh Muztagh, Kunlun.................................... | 7,723 | Ushba, Greater Caucasus ......................... | 4,695 | Yüshan, Taiwan................................. | 3,997 | Zardeh Kuh, Zagros................................ | 4,548 | AFRICA | Cameroon, West Africa ...................... | 4,070 | Elgon, East African Plateau..................... | 4,321 | Fogo, Cape Verde Islands................................ | 2,829 | Karisimbi, Virunga Range................................ | 4,507 | Kenya, East African Plateau................................... | 5,199 | Kilimanjaro, East African Plateau ........................... | 5,895 | Margherita, Ruwenzori Massif............................ | 5,109 | Meru, East African Plateau............................. | 4,567 | Neiges, Piton des, Réunion Island................... | 3,069 | Nyiragongo, Virunga Range................................. | 3,470 | Ras Dashan, Ethiopian Highlands........................... | 4,620 | Teide, Canary Islands................................... | 3,718 | thabana Ntlenyana, Drakensberg.............................. | 3,482 | Toubkal, Atlas Mountains............................. | 4,165 | NORTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA | Acatenango, Cordilleras................................ | 3,975 | Blanca Peak, Cordilleras............................. | 4,363 | Chiriqui, Panama.................................... | 3,478 | Duarte, Hispaniola................................... | 3,175 | Gunnbjorn, Greenland.................................. | 3,700 | Irazú, Cordilleras.................................. | 3,432 | Izalco, Cordilleras.............................. | 1,965 | Katmai, Alaskan Peninsula................................... | 2,047 | Kennedy, Cordilleras.................................. | 4,237 | Lassen Peak Cordilleras................................. | 3,187 | Logan Cord.Meras..................................... | 6,050 | Longs Peak, Cordilleras............................ | 4,345 | McKinley Cord-lleras.............................. | 6,193 | Mitchell, Appalachians................................. | 2,037 | Orizaba, Mexican Plateau................................ | 5,700 | Paricutin, Mexican Plateau.............................. | 3,292 | Pelée, Mount, Martinique............................. | 1,397 | Popocatepetl, Mexican Plateau.............................. | 5,452 | Rainier, Cordilleras.............................. | 4,392 | Robson, Cordilleras..................................... | 3,954 | St Elias, Mount, Cordilleras....................... | 5,488 | Sanford, Cordilleras................................. | 4,939 | Shasta, Cordilleras......................................... | 4,317 | Soufrière, Guadeloupe Island............................ | 1,467 | Tajumulco, Cordilleras.............................. | 4,217 | Whitney, Cordilleras................................... | 4,418 | SOUTH AMERICA | Aconcagua, Andes................................... | 6,960 | Ancohuma Andes................................. | 6,550 | Antisana, Andes........................... | 5,705 | Ausangate Andes.............................. | 6,384 | Azufre, Andes...................................... | 5,680 | Bohvar, Andes............................... | 5,007 | Chlmborazo, Andes............................... | 6,262 | Coropuna, Andes............................. | 6,425 | Cotopaxi, Andes................................. | 5,897 | cristobal,colon, Andes................................ | 5,800 | El Libertador, Andes................................ | 6,720 | Guallatiri, Andes.................................. | 6,060 | Huascaran, Andes............................. | 6,768 | Huila, Andes....................................... | 5,750 | Illampú, Andes..................................... | 6,485 | Illimani, Andes............................... | 6,462 | Llaima, Andes..................................... | 3,060 | Llullaillaco, Andes............................... | 6,723 | Maipo, Andes................................... | 5,323 | Mercedario, Andes............................... | 6,770 | Misti, Andes................................... | 5,821 | Ojos del Salado, Andes......................... | 6,880 | Osorno, Andes................................. | 2,660 | Ruiz, Andes............................... | 5,400 | Sajama, Andes................................ | 6,780 | Sangay, Ecuador................................. | 5,230 | San Pedro. Andes................................... | 6,165 | Tupungato, Andes................................ | 6,800 | Yerupaja, Andes..................................... | 6,632 | AUSTRALIA AND OCEANIA | Cook, New Zealand......................... | 3,756 | Jaja, New Guinea............................ | 5,029 | Kosciusko, Australian Alps......................... | 2,230 | Mauna Kea, Hawaiian Islands........................... | 4,205 | Mauna Loa, Hawaiian Islands........................... | 4,170 | Ruapehu, New Zealand.................................... | 2,796 | Trikora, New Guinea..................................... | 4,750 | Wilhelm. New Guinea................................ | 4,694 | ANTARCTICA | Amundsen, Mount, eastern Antarctica..................................... | 1,445 | Erebus, eastern Antarctica...................................... | 3,794 | Fridtjof Nansen, eastern Antarctica............................... | 4,070 | Jackson, western Antarctica........................................... | 4,191 | Kirkpatrick, eastern Antarctica..................................... | 4,530 | Markham, eastern Antarctica............................... | 4,350 | Minto, eastern Antarctica...................................... | 4,163 | Sidley western Antarctica.................................. | 4,281 | Vinson, Ellsworth Mountains (western Antarctica)................................. | 5,140 |
The relief of mountains has a great influence on the differentiation of landscapes in a horizontal direction. Because mountain ranges frequently stand in the path of prevailing moist air currents and passing atmospheric fronts, they are sharply marked climatic dividers: on the windward slope they create a humid climate rich in atmospheric precipitation, and on the leeward side they create a dry climate with frequent foehns. Mountains have a screening effect on the climatic conditions of territories lying in their “wind shadow.” Because of the influence of the Altai, which intercepts moist western air currents, deserts in the Mongolian People’s Republic occur to almost 50° N lat. Rising high above sea level, mountains are located in various layers of the atmosphere and, therefore, it is possible to observe on their slopes rapid and abrupt climatic changes on the vertical, which explains vertical landscape zoning. The structure of the landscape zoning of each mountain area depends on the elevation of the mountains, the location of the mountain area in the system of latitudinal landscape and climatic zones, location in conditions of a marine or continental climate, exposure of the slopes, and numerous other factors. REFERENCESMarkov, K. K. Osnovnye problemy geomorfologii. Moscow, 1948. Shchukin, I. S., and O. E. Shchukina. Zhizn’ gor: Opyt analiza gornvkh stran kak kompleksa poiasnykh landshaftov. Moscow, 1959. Penck, W. Morfologicheskii analiz. Moscow. 1961. (Translated from German.) Shchukin. I. S. Obshchaia geomorfologiia, vol 2. Moscow. 1964. Chapter 9. Rel’ef Zemli (morfostruktura i morfoskul’plura). Edited by I. P. Gerasimov and lu. A. Meshcheriakov. Moscow. 1967. Troll, K. Ökologische Landschaftsforschung und vergleichende Hochgebirgsforschung. Wiesbaden. 1966.I. S. SHCHUKIN
Mountains (1) Isolated summits, massifs, ridges, or ranges (usually with a height of at least 200 m above sea level) of various origins. (2) The same as tectonic mountains—vast territories of folded or folded-block formations of the earth’s crust that have been uplifted to altitudes of several thousands of meters above sea level and that are characterized within their boundaries by extreme variations in height. They are formed by the intense uplifting of strongly dislocated sections of the earth’s crust, chiefly of geosynclinal systems (at later stages of their development) and sometimes platforms. As a result, epigeosynclinal (young) and epiplatform (rejuvenated) mountains, respectively, are created. (3) Erosional mountains are high plateau-like regions of the earth’s surface with a horizontal geological structure, which have been sharply and deeply dissected by erosional valleys (for example, the region near the Colorado River canyon in North America). (4) Volcanic mountains are volcanic cones, lava flows, and tuffaceous covers distributed over a wide area, usually on a tectonic base—either on a young mountainous region (for example, the Armenian Highland) or on ancient platform formations (the volcanoes of Africa). The division of mountains into tectonic, erosional, and volcanic types is conditional inasmuch as the appearance of erosional and volcanic mountains is also predetermined by tectonic processes: by ascending vertical movements in the case of erosional mountains and by the appearance of tectonic fractures in the case of volcanic mountains. (5) Mountains on the ocean floor (reef-like midoceanic ranges, underwater volcanic mountains, guyots, and so on). AcronymsSeeMNTNS |