Questions tagged [mountains]

Questions regarding large land masses that reach high above the surrounding terrain, usually forming a peak.

112 questions
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What causes this striped rock formation?

I was hiking a very popular trail in Akamina-Kishnena Provincial Park, and noticed these strange lines in the rocks on top of the mountain: The lines were parallel to each other, and were on both sides of the trail covering quite a large area of…
ShemSeger
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The coloration of the Kopet Dag Mountains

Why are the Kopet Dag Mountains (on the border between Iran and Turkmenistan) coloured much like the Bulgarian flag? [Link to satellite imagery in Google Maps] (Location is 37.548903 North, 59.033423 East)
Fill
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Is the sun brighter at higher altitudes?

I was wondering since UV index is higher as elevation increases, is the brightness of the sun changing as elevation increases?
user6847056
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Is there a meaningful concept of a mountain having a footprint area?

Is there a meaningful way to delimit a mountain as an area with a sharp boundary? Looked as as a 2D shape on the datum it would be a footprint of the mountain similar to a building footprint, while as a region cut out of the surface it would delimit…
smithkm
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How do fold mountains form?

I know mountains form due to the collision of tectonic plates. But how does such a slow collision have such great impact as to create huge mountains. Is there any intuitive explanation for this?
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Is there a physical limit to the heights of mountains?

I am reading a fantasy novel where there is a mountain range where the average mountain height is 10 miles, so some higher some lower, but all extremely high. This got me wondering if such a mountain range is possible on earth. Mount Everest is just…
Mr. Spock
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