Mountains of the World by Dr. Gaurav Garg
There are three types of mountains- Fold Mountains, Block Mountains and the Volcanic Mountains.
Fold Mountains
● Fold mountains are formed due to folding of the rocks.
● Fold Mountains are formed when two tectonic plates move towards each other leading to the folding of the layers of
the Earth. Heavy plates go under the lighter one. Sometimes subduction also takes place when Heavy plates melt,
forming magma of Volcanoes. Lighter plates that go upwards make folds.
● Example: The Himalayas, the Alps.
Block mountains
● Block mountains are formed due to faulting, Block Mountains are formed when the two tectonic plates move away
from each other causing cracks on the surface of the Earth. These are formed due to tension force.
● Block Mountains are created when large areas are broken and displaced vertically. The uplifted blocks are termed as
horsts and the lowered blocks are called graben.
● Example: The Rhine valley and the Vosges mountain in Europe are examples of such mountain systems. Vindhya and
Satpura in India are also examples of Block Mountains.
Longest Mountain Ranges
✓ The Andes – 7,000 km
✓ The Rockies – 4,830 km
✓ The Great Dividing Range – 3,500 km
✓ The Transantarctic Mountains – 3,500 km
✓ The Ural Mountains – 2,500 km
✓ The Atlas Mountains – 2,500 km
✓ The Appalachian Mountains – 2,414 km
✓ The Himalayas – 2,400 km
✓ The Altai Mountains – 2,000 km
✓ The Western Ghats – 1,600 km
✓ The Alps – 1,200 km
✓ Drakensberg – 1,125 km
✓ The Aravalli Range – 800 km
The Andes
● The Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world.
● The Andes is the world’s highest mountain range outside of Asia
with an average height of 4000 m.
● Highest peak is Mount Aconcagua (6,962 m) (volcanic origin, but
now it’s dormant), which is also the highest peak of the South
American continent.
● World’s highest volcanoes are in the Andes. Ojos del Salado (6,893
m) (active volcano) on the Chile-Argentina border is the highest
volcano on earth.
■ Alaska Range - The highest point in North America, Mt. McKinley , now called Denali is here. It measures 6,194 m.
■ Appalachian Mountains - The highest point is Mt. Mitchell at 2,037 m.
■ Cascade Range – Located in western North America. It is part of the Pacific Ocean’s Ring of Fire. It is made up of a
band of thousands of very small, short-lived volcanoes. Some volcanoes are very large.
Example - Mount St. Helens.
■ The Rocky Mountain range forms a part of the American Cordillera.
Main belt of the Rocky Mountains – The highest point in the Rockies is Mt. Elbert, 4,399 meters.
■ Brooks Range in Alaska - Highest point: Mt. Isto, 9,060 ft. (2,760 m).
■ Columbia Mountains lie parallel to the Rocky Mountains.
■ Sierra Nevada - The highest point is Mt. Whitney at 4,418 meters.
■ In Mexico, the Cordillera continues through the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental.
■ South Cordillera The Cordillera continues through the mountain ranges of Central America in Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, and becomes the Andes Mountains of South America.
■ The Andes with their parallel chains continue to the very tip
of South America at Tierra del Fuego .
The Great Dividing Range
● The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is
Australia’s most substantial mountain. It is also known as
the Australian Alps and was formed due to rifting. It runs
roughly parallel to the East Coast of Australia and stretches
more than 3,500 kilometres.
Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica
● Highest point: Mount Kirkpatrick, Length: 3,500 km.
● Overall, Mount Vinson Massif is the highest peak in
Antarctica, at 4,892 metres. (Vinson Massif does not lie in
the Transantarctic Mountains).
The Ural Mountains
● Mountain range that runs approximately from north to south
through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean
to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan.
● Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary
between Europe and Asia. Since the 18th century, the
mountains have been a major mineral base of Russia.
Chersky Range
● The Chersky Range is a chain of mountains in northeastern Siberia. The range lies on the boundary between the
Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. The Chersky mountains, along with the neighboring Verkhoyansk
Range , have a moderating effect on the climate of Siberia.
Atlas Mountains
● Mountain range across the north-western stretch of Africa extending about 2,500 km (1,600 mi) through Algeria,
Morocco and Tunisia.
● The highest peak is Toubkal (4,165 metres) in southwestern Morocco. These mountains were formed when Africa and
Europe collided.
Olympus Mons
● The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars (~26 km in elevation).
● It is also the highest active volcano in the Solar System.
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