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On the earth where we live, in addition to the endless plains, there are rolling and towering mountains. In the mountainous region, there is a natural phenomenon different from that on the plains. there are snow and green trees on a mountain at the same time . Besides, mountains affect the climate in our area. So how did the mountains form? What kind of strange scenery does it have? This article will take you into the mountains, to appreciate the beauty of the mountains.
What Are Mountains
Mountains refer to highlands 500 meters above sea level with a relative height of 200 meters above the plateau, rolling, steep, distributing like veins. Mountains in China locate mostly in the West, such as the Himalayas, Mt. Kunlun, Mt. Tanggula, Mt. Tianshan, Mt. Altay and so on. Mountains in the world are also widely distributed, including the Alps, the Andes, the Urals, Rocky Mountains and so on.
The Formation of Mountains
The main causes of mountainous areas are volcanic eruption, crustal folds, crustal faults, and external erosion.
Volcanoes
The mountains formed by volcanic eruptions are called volcanoes. This kind of mountain is characterized by a depression on the top of the mountain, which is usually called the crater. If this mountain is located in a relatively high latitude, then in winter there is snow on the mountain which is like white hair of the mountain, and if you look closer, you will see water in the crater. The water gatheres, forming a lake, namely Tianchi.
China's Mount Changbai is a dormant volcano, formed 12 million years ago to what it is now after several eruptions. The outer lava "shell" of the Mount Changbai is an oval shape that is not too flat, about 140 km long and about 120km wide.It is formed due to the basaltic lava successively going through the times when there humans did not even exist--the times of Cretaceous period, the Miocene, the Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene; it is a real illustration of the saying ‘In the Yangtze River the waves behind drive on those before.’!The main peak of Mount Changbai, the boundary mountain of China and DPRK, is located in the territory of DPRK and 2750 meters above the sea level, The highest peak of Mount Changbai in China is Baiyun Peak, 2691 meters above the sea level, slightly shorter than the main peak. The latest "awakening" eruption of Mount Changbai is in 1702, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of Qing Dynasty.From the ancient people’s thoughts, the Emperor Kangxi might blame himself on the mistake he made! Folded Mountains
The formation of folded mountains was caused by the continental drift, which resulted in the collision of two continents and the bending of the rocks. The outermost layer of the earth we live is a thick rock shell, like an eggshell, but it is not a complete "eggshell", but jointed together by a number of plates. These plates are not "obedient", they crush each other, and some plates are "warped" by another plate, therefore forming mountains, such as Himalaya; some plates are soft, so they are "squeezed" by another plate, such as the Mount Kunlun and Mount Tianshan in China, the Alps in Europe, and the Andes in America, all of which belong to the system of folded mountains.
Himalaya is a most famous mountain in the world, for it is extremely high--more than 7300 meters above the sea level--the world's highest mountain range, equivalent to the range of three Changbai Mountains. Himalaya is located at the junction of the Indian Ocean Plate and the Eurasian Plate, and as the Indian Ocean plate moves northward at a rate of 5 centimeters per year, squeezing up the adjacent region of the Eurasian Plate, forming a series of towering snow-capped mountains. Geologists have discovered that Himalaya was a vast ocean 35 million years ago, and later, under the "squeezing" of the Indian Ocean Plate, slowly uplifted to become the “the roof the world” (Mt. Everest), therefore, fossils of sea shells could be found on the slopes of Himalaya.
Fault Mountain
The rock is broken due to the spouting effect of the earth's internal forces. The rising rock, resembling a fort, is called horst, which often forms massive mountains, such as the Mount Lu in Jiangxi Province, Mount Tai in Shandong Province, Huashan Mountains in Shanxi Province and so on; the sunken area forms a marsh land, called the graben, where the part of large precipitation is easy to form a lake, such as Lake Poyang in China, Lake Baikal in Russia, and the part with little rain will form an alluvial plain, such as Shanxi's Weihe Plain. This type of mountain is characterized by a lumpy mountain in the plains, towering over the horizon where one can overview the rolling mountains.
Mount Tai is the representative of fault mountain. It is at the eastern edge of the Eurasian plate, and is formed due to the internal fracture of the rock strata caused by the extrusion of the Pacific plate. In other words, The shell of the rock in Mount Tai is fragile, which means it is easily broken when squeezed. The summit of Mount Tai -- Jade Emperor Peak, 1545 meters high above the sea level, is insignificant compared with its Big Brother Himalayas and second elder brother, Changbai Mountains. However, , it is very conspicuous for it is in the hilly areas with relatively low slopes of Shandong Province. Mountains formed by External Erosion
There are three ways to form rocks: The igneous rock such as the granite is hard in texture, and is not likely to be eroded; and the metamorphic rock such as the marble, delicateandsmooth, is also not easy to be eroded. Sedimentary rocks form when sand turn into rocks in certain temperature and pressure. They are soft and easy to be eroded.When the rocks are exposed to the surface, being blown by the wind and washed by rain, the soft rocks will be taken awayby water and wind while the hard rock is left to form the mountain.
Another kind of rock is very special, that is limestone, because it can be dissolved in water, if it happens that limestone is distributed in areas of large precipitation and rivers, thenit is likely to be eroded into ravines and karst caves after a long time. And if the water which dissolved limestone drips in a fixed position, it will form stalagmites and stalactite.A stalagnate is formed when stalactites and stalagmites are connected, its smooth surface looking like a melted ice cream. The mountainous area of Guilin, Guangxi Province in China, is a typical example of limestone being eroded by water. Together with the mountainformed due to the collapse of the rock mass, and it has a special name called the Karstlandform.
Climate Changes Frequently on the Mountains
The rise and fall of mountains result in the sharp difference in height.The higher the mountain is, the lower the temperature on mountains is, so the temperature at the foot of the mountain is higher than the temperature on the peak,what’s more, the greater the difference of the height is, the greater their difference in temperature is, correspondingly, the climate will also change, accompanied by spectacular views.
Mount Hua
Because the south slope of Mount Hua in Shanxi is the windward slope, and the air temperature lowers as the mountain rises, there is large precipitation and many clouds on the mountains. The cloud and rain appear alternatively, resembling a child’s face.Especially in a morning after a rainy night, before the sun rises, the water vapor in the air is more saturated so that the air is very likely to produce clouds or even sea of clouds under certain circumstance as the air climbs up the slopes.The clouds are as boundless as the sea, with the peaks that come out of the tumbling cloud waves "standing alone" like islands on the sea. But in the leeward slope, because of the downdraft and rising temperature, it is the foehn that goes downward from the mountain, resulting in the small precipitation, scarce vegetation, the lack of cloud and intense sunlight. The furnace city of China--Chongqing and Xi’an, are in the leeward slope, so it is normal to see the temperature reaches 40℃in summer.Therefore, there is a saying that is appropriate to use in areas where foehn is prevalent --"Be careful of fire and candles in dry weather"! Mount Emei
Mount Emei in Sichuan is 3099 meters above the sea level. As it is located in the zone of subtropical monsoon climate with large precipitation and lush trees, the temperature of the foothills is different from that in the summit.The temperature drops 6℃ every 1000 meters above the sea level, so cotton coat is required on the mountains even in summer. Therefore,the vegetation from the foot to the top is distributed in vertical zonality,:the foothills are subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, in turn is the temperate deciduous broad-leaved belt, mixed broadleaf-conifer forests and coniferous forests. There are clouds on the mountain where one can watch the magnificent sea of clouds, sunrise and sunset.
In addition, Mt. Emei has a rare sight-- the light of the Buddha. Of course, it is not the real light of the Buddha, but the circular spot when the sunlight is refracted by the droplets in the mist which surrounds the mountains--the same cause of the production of the rainbow. The center of the spot will produce a dark shadow of human form because of the projection of people from the mountains, which looks like a Buddha meditating in the mist under the colorful light. Nature is really amazing!
Mount Tianshan
Tianshan is one of the seven major mountain systems in the world. Its east side is located in China's Xinjiang, while the west stretches into Kazakhstan. Its total length is about 2,500km, the width from the north to the south is 250 to 350km, with the widest up to 800km. The highest peak is Tomor Peak, 7435.3 meters above the sea level. Tianshan is the world's largest independent mountain of the east-west direction.Because it is the world's farthest mountain from the oceans, its arid area is the largest in the world.
The Tianshan in China divides Xinjiang into two parts: The south is the Tarim Basin, and the north is Junggar Basin. The Syr Darya River, Chu River and Ili River all originated in Mt. Tianshan. Because there is no high mountains between the Atlantic Ocean and Mt. Tianshan , the moist air from the Atlantic Ocean can reach the northern slope of Mt. Tianshan, the west side of the southern slope of the Mt. Tianshan is unable to touch the moist air from the Atlantic Ocean because of the Pamir Plateau. Therefore,on the northern slope of Mt. Tianshan, though it is the windward slope there grows lush grass to form a mountain grassland where the local farmers can graze.The south slope as a leeward slope, can only envy the North Slope. Because the moist air from the Atlantic Ocean is stopped by Mt. Tianshan and Pamir Plateau, the Taklimakan stretching thousands of miles was formed in the southern part of Mt. Tianshan. What’s more, on the edge of the desert there is a very small basin--Turpan Depression.Because it’s located in the leeward slope of Mt. Tianshan at a low altitude, dry andscarce in rain, the summer temperature there can reach up to 50~60℃. When the hot air rises, it will be the well-known Flaming Mountains against the surrounding Red Rocks, which has been described in the episode Flaming Mountains in Journey to the West!
There are a lot of secrets in the mountains, which inspire us to know the earth - the unique planet we live in, and inspire us to constantly climb the scientific peaks and make progress in the course of human science. The gods are in awe.
What Are Mountains
Mountains refer to highlands 500 meters above sea level with a relative height of 200 meters above the plateau, rolling, steep, distributing like veins. Mountains in China locate mostly in the West, such as the Himalayas, Mt. Kunlun, Mt. Tanggula, Mt. Tianshan, Mt. Altay and so on. Mountains in the world are also widely distributed, including the Alps, the Andes, the Urals, Rocky Mountains and so on.
The Formation of Mountains
The main causes of mountainous areas are volcanic eruption, crustal folds, crustal faults, and external erosion.
Volcanoes
The mountains formed by volcanic eruptions are called volcanoes. This kind of mountain is characterized by a depression on the top of the mountain, which is usually called the crater. If this mountain is located in a relatively high latitude, then in winter there is snow on the mountain which is like white hair of the mountain, and if you look closer, you will see water in the crater. The water gatheres, forming a lake, namely Tianchi.
China's Mount Changbai is a dormant volcano, formed 12 million years ago to what it is now after several eruptions. The outer lava "shell" of the Mount Changbai is an oval shape that is not too flat, about 140 km long and about 120km wide.It is formed due to the basaltic lava successively going through the times when there humans did not even exist--the times of Cretaceous period, the Miocene, the Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene; it is a real illustration of the saying ‘In the Yangtze River the waves behind drive on those before.’!The main peak of Mount Changbai, the boundary mountain of China and DPRK, is located in the territory of DPRK and 2750 meters above the sea level, The highest peak of Mount Changbai in China is Baiyun Peak, 2691 meters above the sea level, slightly shorter than the main peak. The latest "awakening" eruption of Mount Changbai is in 1702, during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor of Qing Dynasty.From the ancient people’s thoughts, the Emperor Kangxi might blame himself on the mistake he made! Folded Mountains
The formation of folded mountains was caused by the continental drift, which resulted in the collision of two continents and the bending of the rocks. The outermost layer of the earth we live is a thick rock shell, like an eggshell, but it is not a complete "eggshell", but jointed together by a number of plates. These plates are not "obedient", they crush each other, and some plates are "warped" by another plate, therefore forming mountains, such as Himalaya; some plates are soft, so they are "squeezed" by another plate, such as the Mount Kunlun and Mount Tianshan in China, the Alps in Europe, and the Andes in America, all of which belong to the system of folded mountains.
Himalaya is a most famous mountain in the world, for it is extremely high--more than 7300 meters above the sea level--the world's highest mountain range, equivalent to the range of three Changbai Mountains. Himalaya is located at the junction of the Indian Ocean Plate and the Eurasian Plate, and as the Indian Ocean plate moves northward at a rate of 5 centimeters per year, squeezing up the adjacent region of the Eurasian Plate, forming a series of towering snow-capped mountains. Geologists have discovered that Himalaya was a vast ocean 35 million years ago, and later, under the "squeezing" of the Indian Ocean Plate, slowly uplifted to become the “the roof the world” (Mt. Everest), therefore, fossils of sea shells could be found on the slopes of Himalaya.
Fault Mountain
The rock is broken due to the spouting effect of the earth's internal forces. The rising rock, resembling a fort, is called horst, which often forms massive mountains, such as the Mount Lu in Jiangxi Province, Mount Tai in Shandong Province, Huashan Mountains in Shanxi Province and so on; the sunken area forms a marsh land, called the graben, where the part of large precipitation is easy to form a lake, such as Lake Poyang in China, Lake Baikal in Russia, and the part with little rain will form an alluvial plain, such as Shanxi's Weihe Plain. This type of mountain is characterized by a lumpy mountain in the plains, towering over the horizon where one can overview the rolling mountains.
Mount Tai is the representative of fault mountain. It is at the eastern edge of the Eurasian plate, and is formed due to the internal fracture of the rock strata caused by the extrusion of the Pacific plate. In other words, The shell of the rock in Mount Tai is fragile, which means it is easily broken when squeezed. The summit of Mount Tai -- Jade Emperor Peak, 1545 meters high above the sea level, is insignificant compared with its Big Brother Himalayas and second elder brother, Changbai Mountains. However, , it is very conspicuous for it is in the hilly areas with relatively low slopes of Shandong Province. Mountains formed by External Erosion
There are three ways to form rocks: The igneous rock such as the granite is hard in texture, and is not likely to be eroded; and the metamorphic rock such as the marble, delicateandsmooth, is also not easy to be eroded. Sedimentary rocks form when sand turn into rocks in certain temperature and pressure. They are soft and easy to be eroded.When the rocks are exposed to the surface, being blown by the wind and washed by rain, the soft rocks will be taken awayby water and wind while the hard rock is left to form the mountain.
Another kind of rock is very special, that is limestone, because it can be dissolved in water, if it happens that limestone is distributed in areas of large precipitation and rivers, thenit is likely to be eroded into ravines and karst caves after a long time. And if the water which dissolved limestone drips in a fixed position, it will form stalagmites and stalactite.A stalagnate is formed when stalactites and stalagmites are connected, its smooth surface looking like a melted ice cream. The mountainous area of Guilin, Guangxi Province in China, is a typical example of limestone being eroded by water. Together with the mountainformed due to the collapse of the rock mass, and it has a special name called the Karstlandform.
Climate Changes Frequently on the Mountains
The rise and fall of mountains result in the sharp difference in height.The higher the mountain is, the lower the temperature on mountains is, so the temperature at the foot of the mountain is higher than the temperature on the peak,what’s more, the greater the difference of the height is, the greater their difference in temperature is, correspondingly, the climate will also change, accompanied by spectacular views.
Mount Hua
Because the south slope of Mount Hua in Shanxi is the windward slope, and the air temperature lowers as the mountain rises, there is large precipitation and many clouds on the mountains. The cloud and rain appear alternatively, resembling a child’s face.Especially in a morning after a rainy night, before the sun rises, the water vapor in the air is more saturated so that the air is very likely to produce clouds or even sea of clouds under certain circumstance as the air climbs up the slopes.The clouds are as boundless as the sea, with the peaks that come out of the tumbling cloud waves "standing alone" like islands on the sea. But in the leeward slope, because of the downdraft and rising temperature, it is the foehn that goes downward from the mountain, resulting in the small precipitation, scarce vegetation, the lack of cloud and intense sunlight. The furnace city of China--Chongqing and Xi’an, are in the leeward slope, so it is normal to see the temperature reaches 40℃in summer.Therefore, there is a saying that is appropriate to use in areas where foehn is prevalent --"Be careful of fire and candles in dry weather"! Mount Emei
Mount Emei in Sichuan is 3099 meters above the sea level. As it is located in the zone of subtropical monsoon climate with large precipitation and lush trees, the temperature of the foothills is different from that in the summit.The temperature drops 6℃ every 1000 meters above the sea level, so cotton coat is required on the mountains even in summer. Therefore,the vegetation from the foot to the top is distributed in vertical zonality,:the foothills are subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest, in turn is the temperate deciduous broad-leaved belt, mixed broadleaf-conifer forests and coniferous forests. There are clouds on the mountain where one can watch the magnificent sea of clouds, sunrise and sunset.
In addition, Mt. Emei has a rare sight-- the light of the Buddha. Of course, it is not the real light of the Buddha, but the circular spot when the sunlight is refracted by the droplets in the mist which surrounds the mountains--the same cause of the production of the rainbow. The center of the spot will produce a dark shadow of human form because of the projection of people from the mountains, which looks like a Buddha meditating in the mist under the colorful light. Nature is really amazing!
Mount Tianshan
Tianshan is one of the seven major mountain systems in the world. Its east side is located in China's Xinjiang, while the west stretches into Kazakhstan. Its total length is about 2,500km, the width from the north to the south is 250 to 350km, with the widest up to 800km. The highest peak is Tomor Peak, 7435.3 meters above the sea level. Tianshan is the world's largest independent mountain of the east-west direction.Because it is the world's farthest mountain from the oceans, its arid area is the largest in the world.
The Tianshan in China divides Xinjiang into two parts: The south is the Tarim Basin, and the north is Junggar Basin. The Syr Darya River, Chu River and Ili River all originated in Mt. Tianshan. Because there is no high mountains between the Atlantic Ocean and Mt. Tianshan , the moist air from the Atlantic Ocean can reach the northern slope of Mt. Tianshan, the west side of the southern slope of the Mt. Tianshan is unable to touch the moist air from the Atlantic Ocean because of the Pamir Plateau. Therefore,on the northern slope of Mt. Tianshan, though it is the windward slope there grows lush grass to form a mountain grassland where the local farmers can graze.The south slope as a leeward slope, can only envy the North Slope. Because the moist air from the Atlantic Ocean is stopped by Mt. Tianshan and Pamir Plateau, the Taklimakan stretching thousands of miles was formed in the southern part of Mt. Tianshan. What’s more, on the edge of the desert there is a very small basin--Turpan Depression.Because it’s located in the leeward slope of Mt. Tianshan at a low altitude, dry andscarce in rain, the summer temperature there can reach up to 50~60℃. When the hot air rises, it will be the well-known Flaming Mountains against the surrounding Red Rocks, which has been described in the episode Flaming Mountains in Journey to the West!
There are a lot of secrets in the mountains, which inspire us to know the earth - the unique planet we live in, and inspire us to constantly climb the scientific peaks and make progress in the course of human science. The gods are in awe.