The North Face of

Mount Everest
Himalayas, Northern India

Mountains
By Jeanie Lacob 2014
What are mountains?
• A landform that reaches a high elevation.

• For a hill or mound to be classified as a mountain, its

summit, or highest point, must be more than a few
hundred meters above the land around it.

Mt. Fuji in Japan

Mountain Systems

• Most mountains do not stand alone, they are part of a

group of mountains.

• A group of mountains with the same general shape

and structure is called a mountain range.

• Groups of mountain ranges form into what are called

mountain systems.
How are mountains formed?
• When tectonic plates collide, land features that start
as folds and faults can eventually become large
mountain ranges.
• Mountains exist because tectonic plates are
continually moving around and colliding with one
another.

Sierra Nevada in California

How do mountains
change?
• Over millions of
years, mountains
change and take on
different forms.

• Mountains change
as the crust is either
built up or worn
away by various
processes.
How do mountains change?
Some mountains have steep slopes. The peaks are sharp and
jagged and the valleys are narrow.

These
mountains are
often called
“young” because
they are formed
from new crust.
• As time passes, a mountain’s peak is worn down by
weather conditions which make the peak more
rounded and the slopes become less steep. These
mountains are sometimes called “mature” mountains.

San
Bernardino
Mountains of
California
Some mountains continue to be worn away for a very
long time. These “old” mountains are almost flat and
have no jagged peaks. They have rolling hills and the
valleys between these mountains are wide.
For example the
Appalachian
Mountains
How are mountains classified?

• Mountains are classified based on how they formed.

• There are three main types:

– Volcanic
– Folded
– Fault-block

Appalachian Mountains in the U.S.

Volcanic Mountains
• Formed from lava or debris, such as ash or rocks,
thrown out of a volcano.

• They are built up from eruptions that occur over

thousands or even millions of years.

• Mount Fuji in Japan is a volcanic mountain.

Folded Mountains
• Mountains formed by the folding of rock layers.
• Most are formed at convergent boundaries where continents have
collided.
• They form when rock layers are squeezed together and pushed
upward.
• .
Folded Mountains
• The highest mountain ranges in the world are made up of folded
mountains.
• Example: Himalayas in Asia
Anticline: fold of rock that bends upward in an arch

Syncline : a fold of rock that

bends downward in the
middle to form a “U”
Anticline or syncline? syncline

The famous Rainbow

syncline near
Basin ________
Barstow, CA
Folded Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Fault-Block Mountains
• Formed when tension causes large blocks of the Earth’s crust
to drop down relative to other blocks.
• Mountains that have sharp, jagged peaks.
• Example: Sierra Nevada Mountains in California
Fault-Block Mountains
• Formed when tension causes large blocks of the Eart
h’s crust to drop down relative to other blocks.
Fault-Block Mountains

• Mountains that have sharp, jagged peaks.

• The Grand Tetons in Wyoming & the Sierra Nevada

in California are fault-block mountains.
 Fault-Block mountains: Teton Range, Sierra Nevada

Mountains that have sharp, jagged peaks.

Grand Tetons, Wyoming are examples of fault block mountains.
What are Plains?
• Large, flat areas that are just above sea level.
• They slope gently over great distances.
• They can form from uneven land being worn down by
weather conditions or from material being deposited in a
large body of water .
• There are two types of plains:
– Coastal (located in coastal
areas)
– Inland (located inland)

The Great Plains in Montana

What are Plateaus?
• Have much higher elevations than plains, yet they are also large,
flat areas.
• The same forces that build mountains form
plateaus.

Island in the Sky Plateau, Canyonlands National Park Utah

What are Plateaus?
• Many have canyons, which are steep-sided valleys
formed by a river.
The same forces that build mountains form
plateaus.

Colorado Plateau