Mountain

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For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation).

Mount Damavand, Iran

Blue Ridge Mountains in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA

A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill, but there is no universally accepted standard definition for the height of a mountain or a hill although a mountain usually has an identifiable summit. Mountains cover 54% of Asia, 36% of North America, 25% of Europe, 22% of South America, 17% of Australia, and 3% of Africa. As a whole, 24% of the Earth's land mass is mountainous. 10% of people live in mountainous regions. Most of the world's rivers are fed from mountain sources, and more than half of humanity depends on mountains for water.^[1][2]

The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them.

Contents

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• 1 Definitions
  • 1.1 In the United Kingdom
  • 1.2 In the United States
  • 1.3 Height
• 2 Characteristics
• 3 Types of mountains
• 4 Geology
• 5 See also
• 6 Gallery
• 7 References
• 8 External links