Mountain range - wikipedia Mountain range For financial options, see Mountain range ( options ). The Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills ranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure and alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an orogeny. Mountain ranges are formed by a variety of geological processes, but most of the significant ones on Earth are the result of plate tectonics. Mountain ranges are also found on many planetary mass objects in the Solar System and are likely a feature of most terrestrial planets. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types. Contents 1 Major ranges 2 Divisions and categories 3 Climate 4 Erosion 5 Extraterrestrial `` Montes '' 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Major ranges An 1865 lithograph showing the High Tatras mountain range in Slovakia and Poland by Karel Kořistka appearing in a book by August Heinrich Petermann. Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth 's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera along the Pacific Coast, the Aleutian Range, on through Kamchatka, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, to New Zealand. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres ( 4,350 mi ) long and is often considered the world 's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, and ends in the Alps, Spain and Atlas Mountains. The belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, which is 8,848 metres ( 29,029 ft ) high and traverses the border between China and Nepal. The Ocean Ridge, the world 's longest mountain range ( chain ) Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then the Ocean Ridges form the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres ( 40,400 mi ). Divisions and categories The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, where mountain ranges can contain sub-ranges. The sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent - child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains. Equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The parent - child expression extends to the sub-ranges themselves : the Sandwich Range and the Presidential Range are children of the White Mountains, while the Presidential Range is parent to the Northern Presidential Range and Southern Presidential Range. Climate The Andes, the world 's longest mountain range on the surface of a continent, seen from the air The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation ( rain or snow ). As the air descends on the leeward side, it warms again ( in accordance with the adiabatic lapse rate ) and is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Erosion Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet ( 3,000 m ) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to the east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive, the rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Extraterrestrial `` Montes '' Hillary and Norgay Montes on Pluto ( 14 July 2015 ) Montes Apenninus on the Moon was formed by an impact event. Further information : List of tallest mountains in the Solar System Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges ( or `` Montes '' ) somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto, in particular exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include the Mithrim Montes and Doom Mons on Titan, and Norgay Montes and Hillary Montes on Pluto. Some terrestrial planets other than Earth also exhibit rocky mountain ranges, such as Maxwell Montes on Venus taller than any on Earth and Tartarus Montes on Mars, Jupiter 's moon Io has mountain ranges formed from tectonic processes including Boösaule Montes, Dorian Montes, Hi'iaka Montes and Euboea Montes. See also Environment portal Earth sciences portal Drainage divide List of mountain ranges List of mountain types Lists of mountains Massif Mountain chain Mountain formation Ridge -- an elongated mountain or hill, or chain of them References Jump up ^ `` Definition of mountain system ''. Mindat.org. Hudson Institute of Mineralogy. Retrieved 26 August 2017. Jump up ^ Rosenberg, Matt. `` Pacific Ring of Fire ''. About.com. Jump up ^ Thorpe, Edgar ( 2012 ). The Pearson General Knowledge Manual. Pearson Education India. p. A-36. Jump up ^ Chester, Roy ( 2008 ). Furnace of Creation, Cradle of Destruction. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. p. 77. Jump up ^ `` Nepal and China agree on Mount Everest 's height ''. BBC. 8 April 2010. Jump up ^ `` The mid-ocean ridge is the longest mountain range on Earth ''. US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Service. 11 Jan 2013. Jump up ^ `` A Guide to the Geology of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado ''. USGS. Archived from the original on 2012 - 10 - 24. Jump up ^ Egholm, David L. ; Knudsen, Mads F. ; Sandiford, Mike. `` Lifespan of mountain ranges scaled by feedbacks between landsliding and erosion by rivers ''. Nature. 498 ( 7455 ) : 475 -- 478. doi : 10.1038 / nature12218. Jump up ^ Mitri, Giuseppe ; Bland, Michael T. ; Showman, Adam P. ; Radebaugh, Jani ; Stiles, Bryan ; Lopes, Rosaly M.C. ; Lunine, Jonathan I. ; Pappalardo, Robert T. ( 2010 ). `` Mountains on Titan : Modeling and observations ''. Journal of Geophysical Research. 115 ( E10 ). doi : 10.1029 / 2010JE003592. ISSN 0148 - 0227. Jump up ^ Gipson, Lillian ( 24 July 2015 ). `` New Horizons Discovers Flowing Ices on Pluto ''. NASA. Retrieved 25 July 2015. Jump up ^ Keep, Myra ; Hansen, Vicki L. ( 1994 ). `` Structural history of Maxwell Montes, Venus : Implications for Venusian mountain belt formation ''. Journal of Geophysical Research. 99 ( E12 ) : 26015. doi : 10.1029 / 94JE02636. ISSN 0148 - 0227. Jump up ^ Plescia, J.B. ( 2003 ). `` Cerberus Fossae, Elysium, Mars : a source for lava and water ''. Icarus. 164 ( 1 ) : 79 -- 95. doi : 10.1016 / S0019 - 1035 ( 03 ) 00139 - 8. ISSN 0019 - 1035. Jump up ^ Jaeger, W.L. ( 2003 ). `` Orogenic tectonism on Io ''. Journal of Geophysical Research. 108 ( E8 ) : 12 -- 1 -- 12 -- 18. doi : 10.1029 / 2002JE001946. ISSN 0148 - 0227. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mountain ranges. Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mountain ranges. Peakbagger Ranges Home Page Bivouac.com Earth 's landforms List of landforms Mountainous Table Butte Flat Hill Mountain Mountain range Plateau Ridge Valley Continental plain Ice sheet Plain Steppe Tundra Fluvial Alluvial fan Beach Canyon Cave Channel Cliff Floodplain Lake Levee Meander Oasis Pond Rapids River River delta River mouth River valley Strait Swamp Waterfall Glacial Arête Cirque Esker Fjord Glacier Tunnel valley Oceanic and coastal landforms Atoll Bay Cape Channel Coast Continental shelf Coral reef Estuary High island Island Isthmus Lagoon Mid-ocean ridge Oceanic trench Peninsula Seamount Volcanic Caldera Crater lake Geyser High island Mid-ocean ridge Lava dome Lava field Lava plateau Submarine volcano Guyot Volcanic crater Volcanic plug Volcano Wall rock Aeolian Desert Dry lake Dune Sandhill Tundra Artificial Artificial island Artificial reef Bridge Building Canal ( man - made ) Dam Ditch Land reclamation Levee Polder Quarry Reservoir Road Tunnel See also : Geographical feature Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountain_range&oldid=830445876 '' Categories : Mountains Mountain ranges Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikivoyage Afrikaans Alemannisch Aragonés Asturianu Avañe'ẽ Авар Aymar aru Bân - lâm - gú Башҡортса Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ भोजपुरी Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština ChiShona Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Frysk Gaeilge Galego 한국어 हिन्दी Hrvatski Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Íslenska Italiano עברית Къарачай - малкъар ქართული Қазақша Kurdî Кыргызча Лезги Latina Latviešu Lietuvių La. lojban. 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Question: what is a continuous series of underwater mountains called
Answer: Ocean Ridges