Middle mountains and their height. How mountains die. Plateau-shaped mountain peaks

Mountains vary in height, shape, age, origin, geographical location etc. The article provides a description of the listed types of mountains.

Mountains by height

Lowlands

Lowlands or low mountains- mountain heights up to 800 meters above sea level.

Peculiarities:

  • The tops of the mountains are round, flat,
  • The slopes are gentle, not steep, covered with forest,
  • Characteristically, there are river valleys between the mountains.

Examples: Northern Urals, spurs of the Tien Shan, some ridges of Transcaucasia, Khibiny Mountains on the Kola Peninsula, individual mountains of Central Europe.

An avalanche basin covers the area of ​​the slope from which the avalanche fell from the liftoff point to the avalanche cone. The location of the avalanche squad is important to its size. The movement of snow masses can be carried out directly on the surface of the slope, by air or mixed - air and slope. This is determined by the nature of the avalanche basin. Depending on this, the following division is made.

The first avalanche line includes slippery base avalanches and snow plates. Movement on uneven surfaces, especially across the slope of a slope, is characteristic of most dust avalanches. Wet avalanches most often occur along the slopes of ditches and skylights.

Srednegorye

Middle mountains (medium or mid-altitude mountains) - the height of these mountains is from 800 to 3000 meters above sea level.

Medium-altitude mountains are characterized by altitudinal zonation, i.e. change of landscape with change in altitude.

Examples of medium mountains: Mountains of the Middle Urals, Polar Urals, island mountains New Earth, mountains of Siberia and the Far East, mountains of the Apennine and Iberian Peninsulas, Scandinavian mountains in northern Europe, Appalachians in North America, etc.

The Tuscan snow avalanche can be found in three states: dry, wet and wet. Therefore, avalanches are: dry, wet and wet. In each of the above avalanches there may be some deviations, but the character of the bulk of the snow remains the same. Falling snow at low temperatures has weak traction both with each other and with the surface of the slope. On the other hand, the wind accumulates on leeward slopes in large quantities of slippery snow, which is unstable and easily sinks. Most often, an avalanche occurs.

The detachment's location is usually insignificant due to the landslide, which attracts a large snow table at the bottom. These avalanches work on the surface of the slope. Some of them have a large dynamic mass of snow and have a well-defined avalanche cone. Avalanches of freshly released, dry snow - so-called dust avalanches - are very dangerous. These avalanches have a strong wind wave preceding the avalanche. They fall like a cloud of white snow powder. Their falling speed sometimes exceeds 350 km/h, which makes air wave destructive.


Highlands

Highlands (high mountains) - the height of these mountains is more than 3000 meters above sea level. These are young mountains, the relief of which is intensively formed under the influence of external and internal processes.

Peculiarities:

  • The mountain slopes are steep, high,
  • The peaks of the mountains are sharp, peak-shaped, and have a specific name - “Carlings”,
  • The mountain ridges are narrow, jagged,
  • It is characterized by altitudinal zones from forests at the foot of the mountains to icy deserts at the tops.

Examples: Pamir, Tien Shan, Caucasus, Himalayas, Cordillera, Andes, Alps, Karakoram, Rocky Mountains, etc.

Immediately after the avalanche, a vacuum is formed, and the surrounding air, trying to fill the empty space, descends along the avalanche. Due to the strong wave of the avalanche, some are called wind avalanches. The devastation of a dust avalanche is greatest on the opposite slope, where it can trigger other avalanches. In some dusty avalanches, an avalanche cone is visible - a mass of snow under the pressure of a strong air stream was scattered around.

Dry snow on a slope that is exposed to atmospheric conditions, and especially wind, thickens. Due to different conditions and wind strength, this seal is different. In addition, lower masses of snow are in a period of recrystallization. The separated vapors are forced under the upper layers and cavities are formed. The connection between the layers is broken, which leads to their slippage. These avalanches are known as snowboard avalanches. One cubic meter weighs about 600 kilograms. After sliding, they are cut into blocks. Due to the constant tension, they are one of the most treacherous avalanches.


Mountains by shape

According to the nature of the summit endings, mountains are: peak-shaped, dome-shaped, plateau-shaped, etc.

Peaked mountain peaks

Peaked mountains are pointed mountain peaks that are shaped like peaks, hence the name of this species mountain peaks. They are characteristic mainly of young mountains with steep rocky slopes, sharp ridges and deep crevices in river valleys.

They have a big impact on the snowmobile. The area of ​​deposition of snow masses is characteristically manifested. Snowflakes made from dry, dry crystals also won't create a good grip, and the cold temperature will hinder the grip and the crystals. This type of snow forms dry business avalanches, which also have great destructive power. They have a linguistic avalanche cone.

Newly wet snow falling at 0° increases the pressure in the lower layers of the snow due to its relatively high relative weight. Innocent, small and wet business slips, especially on heavily lit slopes, can often turn into wet business avalanches. Their fall can also be caused by loose snow that rolls down and grows and attracts larger snowflakes.

Examples of mountains with peaked peaks:

  • Peak Communism (mountain system - Pamir, height 7495 meters)
  • Pobeda Peak (Tian Shan mountain system, height 7439 meters)
  • Mount Kazbek (mountain system - Pamir, height 7134 meters)
  • Pushkin Peak (mountain system - Caucasus, height 5100 meters)


In wet business avalanches, the snowmobile slips and rolls down branches at low speeds. Their path is characterized by adaptation to slope slopes. They have a big impact on the snow table, and some of them can develop into huge avalanches. This type of avalanche is characterized by advanced recrystallization of snow layers, resulting in uniform seed grains, which significantly reduces adhesion in the snow mass. Increasing water content in snow layers puts strong pressure on low-lying layers. Tearing off some upper layers can cause the next one below to rupture, and this sequence often leads the entire snow table to form the main avalanche.

Domed mountain peaks

The dome-shaped, that is, rounded, shape of the top can be taken by:

  • Laccoliths are unformed volcanoes in the form of a hill with a magma core inside,
  • Extinct ancient heavily destroyed volcanoes,
  • Small areas of land that have undergone a dome-shaped tectonic uplift and, under the influence of erosion processes, have taken on a mountainous appearance.

Examples of mountains with a dome-shaped peak:

It consists of wet and heavy snow. This is most often due to prolonged warm weather or rain causing the snow to become heavy. The torn mass of snow from the base of the slope, together with debris from rocks, earth and vegetation, has a dirty, dirty color, parades are called the main avalanche. This type of avalanche has a large pool for collecting snow, and a huge amount of snow reaches the autumn.

The baseline path is within the naturally defined boundaries of the grooves. The speed of movement is not particularly high. However, if the slope of the slope is steep and at the same time a large mass of snow can be obtained from a wide snow collection area, high speed and strong air waves may occur.

  • Black Hills (USA). This territory underwent a dome uplift, and most of The sedimentary cover was removed by further denudation and erosion. As a result, the central core was exposed. It consists of metamorphic and igneous rocks.
  • Ai-Nikola (Ukrainian Ai-Nikola, Crimean tat. Ay Nikola, Ai Nikola) is a domed outlier mountain, the southeastern spur of Mount Mogabi near the western outskirts of the village of Oreanda. It is composed of Upper Jurassic limestones. Height - 389 meters above sea level.
  • Kastel (Ukrainian Kastel, Crimean Catholicate. Qastel, Kaastel) is a mountain 439 m high on the southern outskirts of Alushta, behind the Professor’s Corner. The dome of the mountain is covered with a forest cap, and chaos has formed on the eastern slope - boulders of stone, sometimes reaching 3-5 m in diameter.
  • Ayu-Dag or Bear Mountain (Ukrainian Ayu-Dag, Crimean Catholicate. Ayuv Dağ, Ayuv Dag) - a mountain on South Coast Crimea, located on the border of Big Alushta and Big Yalta. The height of the mountain is 577 meters above sea level. This is a classic example of a laccolith.
  • Kara-Dag (Ukrainian Kara-Dag, Crimean Catholicate. Qara dağ, Kаara dag) is a mountain-volcanic massif, Crimea. Maximum height - 577 m (Mount Holy). It is a heavily destroyed volcanic form with a dome-shaped top.
  • Mashuk is a remnant magmatic mountain (laccolith mountain) in the central part of Pyatigorye in the Caucasus Mineralnye Vody, in the northeastern part of the city of Pyatigorsk. The height is 993.7 m. The peak has a regular dome shape.


The avalanche cone consists of huge snowballs and reaches a colossal height. Then the snow hardens. Not always avalanches can be classified as a type due to the presence of a number of features of several types of avalanches. These are combined avalanches. Most often this is due to their large length and displacement.

For example: On the way, the top of the hill causes the snowboard to drift away. Down, the softened layer of snow attracts surrounding snow and turns into a large avalanche. The movement also consolidates - while the top of the avalanche slid down the slope, down the slope it can have the character of a snowball on badly broken ground.

Plateau-shaped mountain peaks

Mountain peaks that are flat in shape are called plateau-shaped.

  • Front Range Front Range) is a mountain range in the southern Rocky Mountains of the United States, adjacent to the Great Plains to the west. The ridge stretches from south to north for 274 km. The highest point is Mount Grays Peak (4349 m). The ridge is composed mainly of granites. The peaks are plateau-shaped, the eastern slopes are gentle, the western slopes are steep.
  • Khibiny (Kild. Umptek) - the largest mountain range on the Kola Peninsula. Geological age is about 350 million years. The peaks are plateau-shaped, the slopes are steep with isolated snowfields. However, not a single glacier was discovered in the Khibiny Mountains. The highest point is Mount Yudychvumchorr (1200.6 m above sea level).
  • Amba (translated from Amharic as Mountain Fortress) is the name of the flat-topped hills and mesas in Ethiopia. They consist mainly of horizontal sandstones and layers of basalt. This determines the flat-topped shape of the mountains. Ambas are located at an altitude of up to 4,500 m.


Climbers need to have a sound knowledge of avalanche formation. An avalanche can only take place under certain conditions. weather conditions and snowy conditions. This is to show that places known as "big avalanches" can only be made under certain conditions. Therefore, during the preliminary preparation of an alpine event, it is necessary to collect all the necessary information about avalanche areas along the route. The avalanche should be marked on the map in detail with brief notes about its nature, snow conditions over the period and weather conditions.

Mountains by age

By age, mountains are divided into:

  • Young mountains,
  • Old (ancient) mountains.

Young mountains formed over the last 50 million years. In these mountain systems, internal processes are very actively developing, accompanied by the formation of mountains, earthquakes, and sometimes even volcanic activity. The youngest mountains on Earth are those belonging to the continental and island rings Pacific Ocean. Recognized as the youngest mountains in Russia Caucasus Mountains. Here is the most high mountain Russia - Elbrus (5642 m). (In the picture on the left: The Himalayas are young mountains, geological age about 38 million years)

This must be taken into account when determining camp sites. Avoid running on trails with new snow, especially in cold temperatures, because dusty avalanches may occur. A danger may also arise from reverse tilting. This rule also applies to cases where deposition is accompanied by wind or occurs later. Then there is the danger of snow slabs.

A sudden rise in temperature requires an avalanche fall or some cold. In case of heavy rain, when a warm wind appears, movement must also be stopped. In an avalanche, you don't need to shoot, shout, sing, jump, or move at night or in the fog. When passing through such territory, precautions must be taken.

Features of the young mountains:

  • the process of growth of young mountains is still ongoing,
  • the relief is sharp, highly dissected,
  • the peaks of the ridges are sharp,
  • the mountain slopes are steep and high,
  • high absolute altitudes,
  • significant height amplitude,
  • the valleys of numerous rivers are presented in the form of gorges, gorges,
  • Young mountains are characterized by the development of glaciers.

Examples of young mountains are:

In a safe place to place an observer to observe the surroundings and shout a warning if he sees an avalanche. More observers can be deployed if necessary. Avalanche objects are distributed between observers and participants. Each climber has an avalanche tied to himself.

Choose the safest option to navigate the avalanche terrain and make a realistic assessment of the situation. Avoid crossing the labyrinth area horizontally. This can only happen when the avalanche can be cut from the top. If necessary, the area covered by the lagoon should be moved vertically, in the "painted" areas - shallow edges, standing stones, trees, bushes or an avalanche avalanche.

  • Alps,
  • Caucasus Mountains,
  • Carpathians,
  • Kopet-Dag,
  • Pamir,
  • Mountains of Kamchatka.


Old (ancient) mountains are several hundred million years old. They differ in that the internal processes in them have long since died down, while the external processes that influence the destruction of the mountains are still active. This will continue until the relief is completely leveled. On many modern plains there are areas where, by all indications, there were once ancient mountains. From these mountains, only roots remained in the depths, covered with a thick layer of sedimentary rocks.

Only the climber should cross the avalanche area, while his movement is monitored by an observer. The movement happens quickly and only on one track and possibly as wide as possible. Old trails look good as they can often reduce snow traction. When moving the glider in standby mode.

Walking through an avalanche must be well dressed, no matter that the sun is shining. Place gloves, ear cushions, a hat, and a towel over your mouth and nose. Free your feet from skis, hand straps or ice age. The backpack straps are loose. Absolutely follow driver instructions and insurance policies.

Features of old (ancient) mountains:

  • were heavily damaged,
  • have less contrasting relief,
  • the elevation differences are small,
  • gentle slopes,
  • The river valleys are well developed.

Examples of old (ancient) mountains are:

  • Ural mountains,
  • Timan,
  • Yenisei Ridge,
  • Khibiny ( Kola Peninsula, geological age approximately 350 million years).


Be careful if there is a risk of a second avalanche. During an avalanche, which occurs for a short period of time, climbers must maintain the necessary self-control and act decisively. If possible, run sideways or down diagonally. When it is impossible to avoid an avalanche, climbers hide behind nearby rocks and trees.

They are released immediately with sticks, ice cubes and backpacks. When entering an avalanche, attempts are made to stay on the surface and exit to the near end. Every action is quickly assessed. When falling under a layer of snow, attempts are made to free the chest, mouth and nose to provide space for breathing. The screams cannot be heard because the sound waves do not penetrate the thick and thick snow cover.

By origin

Tectonic mountains are formed as a result of the collision of moving areas earth's crust - lithospheric plates. This collision causes folds to form on the surface of the earth. This is how they arise fold mountains. When interacting with air, water and under the influence of glaciers, the rock layers that form folded mountains lose their plasticity, which leads to the formation of cracks and faults. Currently, folded mountains have been preserved in their original form only in certain parts of the young mountains - the Himalayas, formed during the era of Alpine folding.

The position of the body is determined and attempts are made to break through the snow cover and mobilize all forces. Every climber should be familiar with the effects of avalanches and help victims. This is especially necessary for those who are at risk of avalanches on the route. In the first case, the group has a limited amount of avalanche equipment, which prevents the main search for the avalanche. Once an observer has been appointed, areas suspected of being congested are reviewed, marked and investigated.

Particularly noteworthy are the moments in which the victim was last seen. If an accident is found, it must be cleared immediately using available equipment and improvised means. In other cases, this is done by organized special rescue teams that have the necessary capabilities and people. The most important condition for providing assistance to an avalanche is organized and prompt work. The avalanche team leader distributes responsibilities among all members to ensure that all efforts are focused on searching for victims in a comprehensive manner while also ensuring the safety of seekers.

With repeated movements of the earth's crust, hardened folds of rock are broken into large blocks, which, under the influence of tectonic forces, rise or fall. This is how folded block mountains arise. This type of mountains is typical for old (ancient) mountains. An example is the Altai mountains. The emergence of these mountains occurred during the Baikal and Caledonian era mountain building, in the Hercynian and Mesozoic era they were subject to repeated movements of the earth's crust. The type of folded-block mountains was finally adopted during the Alpine folding.


Volcanic mountains are formed during the process of volcanic eruptions. They are usually located along fault lines in the earth's crust or at the boundaries of lithospheric plates.

There are two types of volcanic mountains:

Volcanic cones. These mountains acquired their cone-shaped appearance as a result of the eruption of magma through long cylindrical vents. This type of mountain is widespread throughout the world. These are Fuji in Japan, Mount Mayon in the Philippines, Popocatepetl in Mexico, Misti in Peru, Shasta in California, etc.
Shield volcanoes. Formed by repeated outpouring of lava. They differ from volcanic cones in their asymmetrical shape and small size.

In areas of the globe where active volcanic activity occurs, entire chains of volcanoes can form. The most famous is the chain Hawaiian Islands of volcanic origin with a length of more than 1600 km. These islands are the tops of underwater volcanoes, whose height from the surface of the ocean floor is more than 5500 meters.


Erosion (denudation) mountains

Erosion mountains arose as a result of the intensive dissection of stratified plains, plateaus and plateaus by flowing waters. Most mountains of this type are characterized by a table shape and the presence of box-shaped and sometimes canyon-type valleys between them. The last type of valley occurs most often when a lava plateau is dissected.

Examples of erosional (denudation) mountains are the mountains of the Central Siberian Plateau (Vilyuisky, Tungussky, Ilimsky, etc.). Most often, erosion mountains can be found not in the form of separate mountain systems, but within mountain ranges, where they are formed by the dissection of rock layers by mountain rivers.


By geographical location

On this basis, it is customary to group mountains into mountain systems, ridges, mountain ranges and single mountains.

Mountain belts are the largest formations. There are the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt, stretching across Europe and Asia, and the Andean-Cordilleran mountain belt, passing through North and South America.

Mountainous country - many mountain systems.

Mountain system - mountain ranges and groups of mountains that are similar in origin and have the same age (for example, the Appalachians)

Mountain ranges are interconnected mountains stretched out in a line. For example, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (North America).

Mountain groups are also mountains connected to each other, but not elongated in a line, but forming a group of indefinite shape. For example, Mount Henry in Utah and Bear Paw in Montana.

Solitary mountains are mountains that are not connected to other mountains, often of volcanic origin. For example, Mount Hood in Oregon and Rainier in Washington.

Mountains are different: old and young, rocky and flat, domed and peaked. Some of them are covered with dense forests, others with lifeless stone deposits. But in this article we will talk about their height. Which mountains are medium and which are considered high?

Mountain as a landform

First of all, it is worth answering the question of whether this is a positive form of relief, characterized by a sharp and isolated elevation of the terrain. In any mountain, three main elements are clearly visible:

  • vertex;
  • foot;
  • slope.

Any mountain system on the planet is nothing more than a complex system valleys (depressions) and ridges consisting of dozens of individual peaks. All of them are external manifestations of the internal (endogenous) forces of the Earth - tectonic movements of the earth's crust and volcanism.

Mountains create the most beautiful and unique landscapes on the surface of our planet. They are distinguished by their unique soil cover, unique flora and fauna. But people settle in the mountains extremely reluctantly. According to statistics, about 50% of the earth's population lives at altitudes not exceeding 200 meters above sea level.

Classification of mountains in geomorphology. Mountains are medium, low and high

In geomorphological science, mountains are usually classified according to a number of characteristics: age, height, geographical location, genesis, shape of peaks, etc.

By their origin they can be tectonic, denudation or volcanic, and by age - old or young. Moreover, a mountain system whose formation time does not exceed 50 million years is considered young. By geological standards, this is a very small age.

Depending on the shape of their peak, mountains are:

  • peaked;
  • domed;
  • plateau-shaped (“table”).

Geographers distinguish mountains based on their altitude above sea level:

  • low;
  • average;
  • tall.

Sometimes in the literature you can find intermediate altitude types, for example, medium-high or medium-low mountains. It is immediately worth noting that mountains of medium height can be found in any part of the world. However, most of them are in Europe and Asia.

Middle Mountains: examples and height

8848 meters - reaches this mark highest peak world - Chomolungma, or Everest. The absolute height of the middle mountains is much more modest: from 1 to 3 km above sea level.

The most famous examples of such mountain systems are the Carpathians, Appalachians, Tatras, Apennines, Pyrenees, Scandinavian and Drakensberg Mountains, Australian Alps, Stara Planina. There are medium mountains also within Russia. These are the Eastern Sayan, Sikhote-Alin (pictured below) and others.


An important feature of the middle mountains is the presence of altitudinal zones. That is, the vegetation and landscapes here change with altitude.

Carpathians

The Carpathians are the largest mountain system in Europe, spanning eight countries. Linguists, explaining the origin of its name, came to the conclusion that this toponym has Proto-Indo-European roots and is translated as “stone”, “rock”.

The Carpathians stretch in an arc of one and a half thousand kilometers, from the Czech Republic to Serbia. And the highest point of this mountain system is located on the territory of Slovakia (Mount Gerlachovsky Štit, 2654 m). An interesting fact: between the Alps and the extreme eastern spurs of the Carpathians there are only 15 kilometers.

The Carpathians are young mountains. They formed in the Cenozoic. However, their outlines are smooth and gentle, which is more typical of older geological structures. This can be explained by the fact that the Carpathians are predominantly composed of soft rocks (chalk, limestone and clay).


The mountain system is divided into three conventional parts: Western, Eastern (or Ukrainian) and Southern Carpathians. It also includes the Transylvanian Plateau. are characterized by fairly high seismicity. Here is the so-called Vrancea zone, which “produces” earthquakes with a magnitude of 7-8.

Appalachia

Geomorphologists often call the Appalachians the identical twin of the Carpathians. In appearance they are not much different from each other. The Appalachian Mountains are located in the eastern part of North America, within two states (USA and Canada). They stretch from to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. The total length of the mountain system is about 2500 kilometers.


If the European Carpathians are young mountains, then the American Appalachians are a product of earlier Hercynian and Caledonian folds. They formed about 200-400 million years ago.

The Appalachian Mountains are rich in a variety of mineral resources. Coal, asbestos, oil, and iron ore are mined here. In this regard, this mountainous region is also very often called the historical “industrial belt” of the United States.

Australian Alps

It turns out that the Alps are not only in Europe. Residents of the smallest and driest continent can also go hiking in the real Alps. But only in Australia!

This mountain system is located in the southern part of the continent. This is where highest point throughout Australia - Mount Kosciuszko (2228 m). And on the slopes of these mountains the most long river mainland - Murray.


The Australian Alps are stunningly diverse in landscape terms. In these mountains you can find snow-capped peaks, deep green valleys, and lakes with clear water. The mountain slopes are decorated with bizarre-looking rocks. The Australian Alps are home to several picturesque national parks and excellent ski resorts.

Finally

Now you know which mountains are medium and which are high. Geomorphologists distinguish three types of mountain systems based on height. The middle mountains have an altitude of 1000 to 3000 meters above sea level. The Carpathians, Appalachians, and Australian Alps are the most striking examples of such mountain systems in the world.