Mountain Ranges
The Karakoram
a large mountain range spanning the borders between Pakistan, India and China, located in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan (Pakistan), Ladakh (India), and Xinjiang (China). It is actually the northwestern extension of the Himalaya. This range is home to many peaks over five miles in height, including K2 (Mount Godwin Austen), the second highest peak in the world (8,611 m/28,251 ft), and three other of the Earth's fourteen 8,000-meter peaks — Gasherbrum I at 8,068 m. (26,471 ft), Broad Peak at 8,047 m. (26,402 ft), and Gasherbrum II at 8,035 m. (26,363 ft)
Atlas Mountains
a range extending 1,500 miles across northwestern Africa. They run from Cape Guir on the Atlantic Ocean to Cape Bon on the Mediterranean Sea. The range crosses part of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. These mountains were named after Atlas, the Greek Titan. These mountains are made up of several chains that run from southwest to northeast. The southern chains are the Grand or High Atlas, the Atlas and the Anti-Atlas in Morocco, and the Saharan Atlas in Algeria. The highest peaks include Jbel Toubkal at 13,671 feet (4,167 m.) and Djebel Ighil M'Goun which is 13,356 feet (4,071 m.) in Morocco
Alborz(Elburz) Mountains
a range of mountains in northern Iran. The range is almost 600 miles long, and varies in width from about 19 to 81 miles, and is located south of the Caspian Sea. The highest mountain in the range located in northern Iran is Mount Damavand at 18,406 ft. (5,610 m.). The mountains consist mostly of limestone with lava beds and volcanic tuff. The region is divided into two climatic zones. The northern region has an average annual rainfall of 39.4 inches in the lowlands and more in the mountains. The region contains forests of beech, oak and cypress
The Cascades
are a chain of mountains that extend from northern California through western Oregon and Washington State, into southern British Columbia. The mountains are made up of lava and volcanic materials. Many of the peaks are "extinct" or "dormant" volcanoes. Lassen Peak and Mount St. Helens are the only "active" volcanoes in the United States outside of Alaska and Hawaii. Mount Rainier (14,411 ft; 4,392 m.) in Washington and Mount Shasta (14,179 ft; 4,322 m.) in northern California, are the highest peaks in the range
Rwenzori(Ruwenzori) Mountains
is a spectacular mountain range located in Africa on the border of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The range is not volcanic but consists of crystalline rock that moved upward from the earth's crust. Ancient people called the range "the Mountains of the Moon." Ptolemy, the Alexandrian geographer, first used this name on a map. The mountains were thought to be the source of the Nile River. Indeed, melting snows from the range do feed some of the farthest Nile tributaries
The Rockies
named group of jagged, snow-capped peaks which run through the western part of North America. This chain of mountains extends over 3,000 miles and is almost 1,000 miles wide in some places. They begin in Northern New Mexico and extend as far as northern Alaska. From New Mexico, the mountain range stretches through Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana
Ural Mountains
probably the richest mountain range of their size in the world. These mountains are remarkable in the variety and amount of mineral wealth which they contain. Salt, silver and gold have been mined here since the 1500s. By the 1800s, the Ural region was famous for its gems and semiprecioius stones, which include emerald, beryl, amethyst, topaz and sapphire. Today, mining activities produce coal, iron, copper, gold, platinum, silver, nickel, aluminum, manganese, lead, zinc, magnesium, chromium, potash, salt, building stone, talc, diamonds, and soapstone. Oil is found west of the Ural area. The Ural Mountains extend for 1,500 miles in a north-south direction, from the Arctic Ocean to near the Aral Sea. Old map makers used this range to mark the continental boundary between Europe and Asia. Many maps continue to show the Urals as the natural division of the two continents, although not all geographers accept the mountains as the boundary mark
The Brooks Range
range in northern Alaska is the northernmost section of the Rocky Mountains and the highest mountain range in the Arctic Circle. This range (named for USGS geologist Alfred Hulse Brooks) runs east to west across the state about 200 miles south of the Arctic Ocean
The Great Dividing Range of Australia
so callled because it forms a watershed. Rivers on the east side flow from the highlands toward the Pacific Ocean; on the west side they flow toward the central lowlands. In southern New South Wales and Eastern Victoria are the Australian Alps, the continent's tallest mountains. Mount Kosciusko, Australia's highest peak, rises to a height of 7,316 feet (2,230 m.)
The Zagros Mountains
stretches south and west from the borders of Turkey and Russia to the Persian Gulf, and is Iran's largest mountain range (but not the highest which are The Alborz), rising in the western half of the country and along the northern border
The Appalachian Mountains
the chief mountain system of eastern North America, and the oldest mountains in the United States. They stretch southwestward for about 1,500 miles from Quebec in Canada to central Alabama. The mountains form the eastern continental divide between the rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean and those that drain into the Gulf of Mexico
Himalaya Range
the highest mountain system in the world. The name "Himalaya" comes from the Sanskrit language and means "the House of Snow," or "the Snowy Range." It consists of several parallel ranges. The mountains extend in a 1,500 mile curve across southern Asia from the Pamirs, west of the great bend of the Indus River, eastward to the great bend of the Brahmaputra River. They form a barrier which separates northern India from the plateau of Tibet. Parts of the range are as much as 200 miles wide
The Alaska Range
the largest mountain chain in Alaska. It curves across south central Alaska for 400 miles, from the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory. The mountains trap a great deal of moisture moving northwards from the Gulf of Alaska, thus producing tremendous amounts of rain and heavy snowfall. This great amount of precipitation gives rise to many large glaciers, including the Canwell, Castner, Black Rapids, Susitna, Yanert, Muldrow, Eldridge, Ruth, Tokositna, and Kahiltna Glaciers
The Alps
the largest mountain system in Europe. They cover parts of southeastern France and northern Italy, most of Switzerland, part of southern Germany, and some of Austria and Yugoslavia
Andes Mountains
the longest mountain chain in the world. They stretch along the entire west coast of South America from Cape Horn to Panama, a distance of 4,500 miles
The Hindu Kush
a chain of mountains in Central Asia extending to the west of the Himalayas. They are part of the boundary between eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. The name Kush, which means death, was probably given to the mountains because of the dangerous passes between the peaks. Some of these high-altitude passes were used by Alexander the Great and others in their invasions of India. The mountains have permanently glaciated peaks and little vegetation
Pyrenees
a chain of mountains that forms a natural barrier between France and Spain. They extend from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea, a distance of about 270 miles. They cover an area of over 20,000 square miles. Their average height is only 3,500 ft (1067 m.), but many peaks in the central ranges rise to over 10,000 feet above sea level. The highest point is Pico de Aneto at 11,168 ft (3,404 m.)
The Sierra Nevadas
a huge uplifted and tilted granite mountain range which extends north and south for 400 miles in eastern California. Its highest point is Mount Whitney at 14,505 feet (4,421 m.). Other famous peaks in the Sierras are the giant granite monoliths El Capitan at 7,569 feet (2,307 m.) and Half Dome at 8,836 feet (2,693 m.)
