Fun Mountain Facts for Kids

What is a Mountain?

The dictionary defines a mountain as that which is ‘higher and steeper than a hill’.  A mountain is a landform that rises high above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. They are made from rocks and earth.  Generally, mountains are higher than 600 meters. Those less than 600 meters are called hills.

What do Mountains look like?

Mountains usually have steep, sloping sides and sharp or slightly rounded ridges and peaks.  Mountains can be rocky and barren. Some have trees growing on their sides and very high mountains have snow on their peaks.  Some common features of mountains include the following:

– the summit, or the top of a mountain; – the slope, or side of the mountain; and – a very steep valley between young mountains, known as a gorge.

Where are Mountains found?

Mountains exist on every continent and even beneath our great oceans.  Some of the highest mountains are at the bottom of the sea. Hawaii is at the top of a volcanic mountain in the Pacific Ocean. More than half the mountain is below water.  The largest range of mountains is in the Alantic Ocean.  Mountains cover one-fifth of the earth’s land surface, and occur in 75 percent of the world’s countries.

How are mountains formed?

Mountains are formed through varying causes, there are several distinct types of mountains. Mountains are formed by slow but gigantic movements of the earth’s crust (the outer layer of the Earth).  The Earth’s crust is made up of 6 huge slabs called plates, which fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. When two slabs of the earth’s crust smash into each other the land can be pushed upwards, forming mountains. Many of the greatest mountain ranges of the world have formed because of enormous collisions between continents. 

There are five basic kinds of mountains:

1.Fault-block Mountains (Block Mountains) 

2. Fold Mountains (Folded Mountains)

3. Upwarped Mountains

4. Volcanic Mountains

These different types of mountain names not only distinguish the physical characteristics of the mountains, but also how they were formed.

What is a mountain range?

Mountain ranges are long chains or groups of mountains. Ranges are usually 1,000 or more miles long.  The Rocky Mountains and the Himalayan Mountains are examples of mountain ranges.  A group of mountain ranges is called a mountain system. For example, the mountain systems of the United States include the Rockies and the Appalachians.

Did you know?

More than half of the world’s fresh water originates in mountains, and all the world’s major rivers are fed from mountain sources.

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