A Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms, Words & Expressions A Glossary of American Mountain Men Terms, Words & Expressions Compiled by Walt Hayward & Brad McDade © 1997 The American Mountain Men A AIRLINE The shortest and straightest line between two points. This term was in use long before the invention of aircraft. APAREJO A large, padded packsaddle designed to handle awkward, heavy loads. Very likely the first type of packsaddle, Unlike the sawbuck, panniers cannot be handled with this saddle. APISHEMORE A saddle pad, often made of hair. APPALOS An early camp food made by skewering alternate pieces of lean meat and fat on a sharpened stick and roasting over a low fire. When it was possible to get them, pieces of potato or vegetable, were intermixed with the fat and the meat. This method of cooking was much used by many tribes of Indians, as well as the Mountain Men. ARKANSAS TOOTHPICK A large, pointed dagger used mostly by river men. AS THE CROW FLIES See "Airline" AUX ALIMENTS DU PAYS French for "nourishment of the land'.

All the free trappers and many engages were required to live "aux aliments du pays", surviving by using the provisions of nature. AVANT COURIER A French word meaning "scout". This word was used by both voyageurs and mountain men. AWERDENTY BARK ON, HE HAS THE Said of a courageous person. BARK TO To skin an animal. To scalp a man. a squirrel by shooting the tree bark from under him. BIG FIFTY The .50 caliber Sharps rifle used by the buffalo hunter. BEAM A fallen tree used for fleshing hides. This was also called a graining beam or a fleshing beam. BEAR PEN A type of trap in which the fall acts as a lid over a pen, thereby catching the animal alive. BEE LINE See "Airline". BITCH A lamp made by filling a tin cup with bear or other animal fat, then inserting a twisted rag or piece of cotton rope to act as a wick. BLACKBIRD STORM An unexpected cold storm in late spring. BLANC BEC A term used by voyageurs for a new man who had yet to travel the Missouri past the Platte River.

As with many voyageur terms, this was later adopted by some Mountain Men with much the same meaning. BOIS DE VACHE Buffalo chips used as fuel. BONE PICKER A despised human scavenger who hunted for, and sold, the bones of dead animals, mostly buffalo. BOOSHWAY The leader of a party of mountain men. The word comes from the French "bourgeois", used by the voyageurs. BOSCHLOPER A trapper or hunter BOUDINS The real treat of the mountain man. A buffalo gut containing chyme, which was cut into lengths about 24 inches long and roasted before a fire until crisp and sizzling. BREED A person of Indian and White blood. A half-breed. BRIGADE A keelboat crew. BUCKSKIN Tanned deerskin from which much of the clothing of the Indian and mountain man was made. If Indian tanned, buckskin was usually a very light dolor, often almost white. Darker color was usually obtained by smoking the skin over an open fire. BUFFALO BOAT A boat made of raw buffalo skins, much used by traders. This boat differed from the Bull Boat in that it was larger and had a normal boat shape.

BUFFALO CHIP Buffalo manure, dried and used as fuel. BUFFALO CIDER The fluid found in the stomach of the buffalo. Used by both mountain men and Indians to quench thirst. BUFFALO DANCE An Indian dance used to insure success on a buffalo hunt. BUFFALOED See "Big Fifty". BUFFALO LICK A natural saltlick used by buffalo and other game animals. Usually a very good place to find game. BUFFALO RANGE Any wide-open feeding area used by buffalo. BUFFALO ROBE The skin of the buffalo, tanned with the hair on. Used by traders, Indians, and mountain men as ground covers, robes and blankets, BUFFALO WALLOW The depression made by buffalo rolling and dusting themselves. The same wallows were used year after year often becoming quite deep. BUFFALO WOLF A large, gray wolf found around buffalo herds. Young buffalo calves were the natural food of this animal. BUG'S BOYS The Blackfoot Indians. BUG-TIT A derisive term used to mean any company official who tended to think that he was more important than he actually was. BULL BOAT A bowl-shaped boat having a willow frame-work covered with green hide.

Easy and quick to make; but very difficult to handle. BULL CHEESE A form of Mexican trousers often worn by traders. CANOT DU MAITRE A 35- to 40-foot long canoe propelled by fourteen men, (voyageur) CANOT DU NORD A 25-foot long canoe propelled by eight men. (Voyageur) CAROT See "Carrot" CARROT A bundle of tobacco, wrapped in linen, then whip-wrapped with cords thus forming a crescent-shaped bundle. An early method of packaging and selling tobacco. CAYUSE A horse. Also a tribe of Indians in Oregon. CHAFF, TO To make fun of someone. To rub someone the wrong way. CHAFFER, TO To haggle over prices or trade goods. CHAPARRAL A thicket of scrub oak and other brush. CHEF DE VOYAGE A warm wind, usually in the spring. This is a common term in the Northwest. COCK THE The hammer of a rifle or pistol. COLD FEET, HE HAS He is a coward. Someone who seeks shelter when the going gets tough. CONE THE The nipple on a percussion rifle or pistol. COON A raccoon.

Also a friendly name early mountain men called each other. COUNT COUP To show bravery and receive honor by touching an enemy, usually with a special stick used for that purpose only. In some tribes, touching a living enemy had more honor than touching a dead enemy. Touching a man had more honor than touching a woman. The first to touch received more honor than the second or third. Credit was seldom if ever, given after the third. When feathers were awarded for coup, they were sometimes depending on the tribe, cut or painted to indicate the type and amount of honor they represented. Oddly enough, killing the enemy did not count for coup the first to touch took the honor, be he the killer or not. When used by the mountain man, the expression "I'll count coup on him" usually meant "I'll kill him", after which, the taking of the dead man's scalp was normal. COUREURS DE BOIS A woods runner or hunter an early French trapper, (Voyageur) COURIER A messenger, A term used mostly by traders. CRIMPY DAY Any type of temporary prop or support. DUTCH OVEN A large kettle with three feet and a dished lid.

It can be used for both cooking and baking. E Calm, smooth water on a river or lake. ENGAGEMENT A 3-year agreement between a trapper and a fur company. ENGAGES Company trappers bound for 3 years to sell all they trap to only one company. F FACTOR Chief of a trading post or trading party, authorized by the company to sell or trade company merchandise. FATHER OF ALL WATERS Mississippi River. An Indian term. FAT PINE Pitch pine, very good for starting fires. FEAST CAKES Pancakes. FILLY A young, female horse; although just as likely to be applied to a young, shapely, good-looking woman. FIRE WATER Whiskey. This term comes from the Indian practice of throwing a cup of whiskey into a fire to see if it would burn. If it would not flame up, it would not be accepted. FIZZ-POP A very early soda pop made by mixing a little vinegar and a spoon of sugar in a glass of fresh water. Just before drinking mix in about a quarter of a spoon of soda. FLASH IN THE PAN A misfire.

Also a man who spends a great deal of time bragging, but never seems to be around when it comes to proving himself. FLESHED Any skin or hide which had the flesh and fat scraped off before it was dried. FLESHING The process of removing the excess flesh and fat from a skin or hide. FLAT BOAT A large scow used to float up to three tons of fur and skins to St. Louis. FLOAT STICK A stick attached to a steel trap used to show the location of the trap and the trapped animal. From this comes the expression, "That's the way my stick floats" , meaning , " That's the way I feel about it." FOOFARRAW Any fancy clothing or anything fancy on clothing. Just about anything used for decoration FORK A HORSE (or MULE) Mount the animal. Get ready to fight a defensive battle. FREE TRAPPER A trapper who worked for himself, trapping and selling where he wanted and to whom he wanted. As free a man as the elements would allow. FUR COUNTRY As the mountain men used the expression, The Rocky Mountains.

FUSEES A fusil or trade musket G A term used by early traders meaning an inexperienced man, GREEN MEAT Meat which still had the animal heat in it. GREEN RIVER A western river (see any good map). The hilt of a knife (from the old GR trade mark up near the hilt). A knife made by Russell Green River Works. A copy of a Russell Green River Works knife, GREEN RIVER, UP TO Anything of quality was said to be "up to Green River". GRUB Food. This very old term is still widely used. GULLY WASHER A very hard downpour of rain. H HAIR OF THE BEAR, HE HAS The greatest praise a mountain man can say of another. HALF BREED A person of mixed blood, Indian and White. HALF-FACED CAMP A floor less shed, closed with poles on the back and sides, closed with skins and blankets on the front. The roof sloped from the rear of the shed to the front. This form of house or shed was greatly used by settlers until they had time to construct a log structure. HAWK A very old term meaning "to lift and feel the weight of".

HELLO THE CAMP A traditional greeting given before entering any strange camp. Better given at a slight distance or the visitor may not leave in the same manner that he entered, HIDE HUNTER A rather low breed of man who killed buffalo for the hides only. Usually despised by all who came into contact with him. "Buffalo skins for the belts of industry." HIVERANNO An experienced mountain man. One who had lived many years in Indian country. (First Voyageur, later Mountain Man) HOGSHEAD A large wooden barrel or cask capable of holding from 100 gallons up. HOGAN A stick and earth lodge used by the Navaho Indians, HOLLER CALF ROPE Give up, surrender. An expression used by river boatmen. HORRORS Delirium Tremans. After the first night or two at the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous many a mountain man faced the horrors. HUMP RIBS The small ribs which support the buffalo's hump. Roasted they were another favorite of the mountain men. I INDIAN ANNUITY Payment given to Indians as part of a treaty agreement. More often than not, a sizeable portion went into the pocket of some bureaucrat.

INDIAN BREAD An Indian on scouting duty with the U.S. Amy. INDIAN SIGN Evidence of Indians in the area. INDIAN UP To sneak up on someone or something. J JERKY Dried meat made by cutting meat into strips about one inch wide, 1/4 inch thick, and as long as possible. This was then sun-dried on racks often with a small hardwood fire under the meat to smoke it and to keep insects off it. In good, hot weather the meat would be dry and ready to use in 3 to 4 days. JORNADA A day's journey. A journey between pre-determined points. K KEEL BOAT A 60- to 80-foot long flat-bottomed boat about 16 feet wide. In wide use before steamboats. KEENER A man who is an exceptional shot. KINNIKINNICK A firm of smoking tobbaco made from the leaves of the tobacco plant plus the leaves and bark of other plants, the actual formula depending on the tribe making it. KYACK A rawhide box designed to be strapped to a pack saddle. L To eat in a hasty and sloppy manner LARRUPING GOOD Anything which has an extra fine flavor.

LASH ROPE The rope used to tie a load to a pack saddle. LAVE HOI Time to roll out of bed. This expression, usually given in a good, loud voice, was used to awaken a partner or a whole party. LEGGINGS The buckskin, later blanket, trousers of the Indian. LIGHTS WENT OUT, THE Timber wolf. LOCK, STOCK, AND BARREL In total; the whole thing. For examples "He sold his shop, lock, stock, and barrel". This expression comes from the 3 major parts needed to construct a muzzle loading rifle or pistol. LOCO Crazy. LODGE The living quarters be it house, cabin, tipi, hogan, tent, or lean-to, of the Indian or mountain man. LODGEPOLE The main cross-supporting pole of a lodge. LODGEPOLE PINE (Pinus contorta) Once one of the most valued trees in the Rocky Mountains, due to its many uses. Also known as "Screw pine" and "Tamarack pine". LONG FORM A crude bench long enough to seat three or more people.

LUMPY DICK An early pudding made by stirring dry flour into boiling milk until thick, then serving with sweet milk and molasses or sugar. M MACKINAW A boat approximately 40 feet long, 10 feet across the beam, and 4 feet deep, pointed at both ends. This boat, widely used on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River systems, was capable of holding a cargo of approximately 10 tons. Often these were used for downstream travel only. MADE WOLF MEAT, HE WAS A dead man left where he fell, for the wolves to dine on. An act of contempt. MAKE BEAVER, TO To get a move on, to travel in a hurry. MAKE MEAT, TO To hunt for and lay in a good store of meat. MAKE MEDICINE, TO To hold a pow-wow or meeting. To pray for spiritual guidance. To hold a religious service. To actually look for and find herbs, etc. to be used as medicine. MAL DE VANCHE An illness common to the mountain man and voyageur, It was caused by eating too much fat or fatty meat and not enough vegetable matter. MANGEUR DE LARD Voyageur term for a fur company recruit.

These men, considered useful for common labor only, were usually fed salted pork, hence the name. The term was later adopted by the mountain men to mean any man new to the fur trade. MANTILLA A shawl used as a trade item with the Indians, MEAT BAG, THE The magic, secret charms of the Indian. Also the bait used in trapping. MEDICINE BAG The small bag, used to carry the medicine of the Indian. Adopted by the mountain man and used to carry anything small, especially the "secret" bait he used near his traps. MEDICINE PIPE The sacred pipe of the Indian. This pipe was used only during special ceremonies, was kept in a special, sacred bundle, and was NEVER allowed to touch the ground. MEDICINE LODGE A sacred lodge used only for religious ceremonies. In some tribes it could also be used as a meeting place for the secret societies of braves. The sweat lodge (an early American form of sauna bath) used by many tribes was also considered a "medicine lodge". MESA A table-top (flat) mountain or hill. METATE The stone mortar used for grinding corn and other grains. The word is Spanish, not Indian.

MOCCASIN The buckskin or moose hide shoe of the Indian and mountain man. Light, quiet, and comfortable. MOCCASIN MAIL A postal system devised by the mountain man. It consisted of leaving messages concerning the condition of the trail ahead, time and place of a rendezvous, etc, in trees, hollow logs, etc. Such messages were quite often put in an old moccasin so they would be easy to see. MUD HOOKS Human feet. This expression is still often heard among country people. MULA An Indian word used by many frontiersmen and mountain men to mean any Indian child. PARFLECHE Rawhide made from buffalo hide. It is exceedingly tough. In fact, its name (French) comes from the fact that it could not be pierced by arrows or spears. The word also refers to a carrying case or envelope made of dried buffalo hide and widely used by both Indians and mountain men in place of a trunk. PASS A passage through a range of mountains. PEMMICAN Indian food made by mixing powdered jerky with dried berries and hot tallow, then packed and stored in skin or gut bags. Used by Indians and mountain men. This is a high energy survival food.

PENOLE Flour made from parched corn. PILGRIM Usually immigrants, people moving west. The term was also sometimes used by the mountain men to mean any man new to the fur trade. PINCE The pointed bow and stern of a canoe. (voyageur) PIPE The jornada of the voyageur. The distance between rest stops, which were the only times his pipe could be lit up and enjoyed. PLEW A destructive, frigid west wind. (Crow Indian word) POOR BULL FROM FAT COW TO KNOW To know good times from bad. Either term could also be used alone, such as: "Them days war Poor Bull and that be a sure fact", meaning, "those days food and plews were hard to get and that is a fact". PORTAGE A trip between waterways or around a waterway obstruction, carrying everything along with you. PORTAGE TRAIL The trail used to carry a canoe and supplies between waterways or around a waterway obstruction.

POSSIBLES The personal property of the mountain man, Such items as a bullet mold, an awl, knives, a tin cup, his buffalo robe or a blanket capote, his pipe and tobacco, flint and steel, sometimes a small sheet-metal fry-pan, and other accouterments he considered necessary. Firearms were considered "pieces" or guns" and not possibles. POSSIBLES BAG The leather bag in which the mountain man carried his possibles. everything from his pipe and tobacco to his patches and balls. What could not be carried in the bag were hung on the bags shoulder strap. Shooting needs were given first priority, kept where they could be found with ease and speed. POUDRERIE Dry snow driven through the air by a violent wind. POW-WOW An Indian word meaning a meeting followed by dancing and feasting. The mountain man's term for any discussion between two men, or for a planned meeting. PRO-PELLE-CUTEM The motto of the Hudson's Bay Company, meaning "for a pelt, a skin". PSALM SINGER The winter-killed hide of the buffalo. usually used to make buffalo robes. RUBBED OUT Dead or killed.

This expression comes from the early attempts of the Indian to learn English. To erase is to rub out, anything rubbed out no longer exists, so must be dead. Adopted by the mountain man with the same meaning. S A well-used route between Independence, Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. SAW BUCK A cross-frame used for cutting wood. Also a pack saddle. SCALP FEAST A time for counting coup, feasting dancing, and chanting over battles won. SCALP LOCK A challenging lock of hair grown on the crown of the heads of the warriors of some Indian tribes. SCALP POLE The pole used to display scalps taken from enemies. SEGUNDO The second-in-command of a large party or company SHARPS A breechloading percussion rifle invented by Christian Sharps. SHINING Splendid. To shine means to be extra good at something, SHINING MOUNTAINS An early name for the Rocky Mountains. SHONGSASHA A form of tobacco made from the bark of the red willow, sometimes mixed with Indian tobacco plant leaves. SKIN TRADE, THE A camp for women and children while the men were away hunting or at war.

SQUAW HITCH A simple hitch used in place of the Diamond Hitch. SQUAW MAN A White man married to an Indian woman. SQUAW WIND An unexpected warm wind in the middle of a very cold spell. Like a chinook, but in the dead of winter. SQUAW WOOD Small dry sticks used for starting a fire or tending a very small. hard-to-see fire for cooking. STIRRUP Bread made from flour, fat, and water. It was baked in a Dutch oven or on a stick placed over or near a fire. SWEEP The steering oar on keel boats, rafts, etc. T A whiskey made near Taos New Mexico. TERRAPIN Dog meat. TINDER Fine, shredded Birch bark or other highly combustible wood. Used for starting fire with flint and steel, or with a fire drill. Charred cotton was also used as tender. THERE GO HORSE AND BEAVER An expression meaning "I just lost everything I owned or had with me". THRUMS The fringe on buckskin or leather clothing. THROW IN WITH, TO To join a group or party. To go into partnership with someone.

THROW SMOKE, TO To shoot a firearm TIMBER WOLF A large, gray wolf found at one time throughout the United States, now found only in the far north. TOMAHAWK A small hatchet used by the Indians and mountain men for fighting and woodcraft. TOMAHAWK TALKS Councils of war. Treaty councils. The tomahawk was an important symbol in both war and peace. TIPI The conical lodge used by the Plains Indians. (Teepee) TOW Unspun flax used for cleaning firearms. Also used as tinder. TRACE, A The Spanish yard (33 inches); the unit of measurement used by many early traders. VOYAGEUR A trapper for one of the very early fur companies. Most voyageurs were French-Canadian. W WAGH An exclamation, used by both Mountain Men and Indians, usually denoting admiration or surprise. This grunt-like sound is supposed to resemble that made by a bear. It is, in fact, believed to have ordinate from the sound made by a bear when mildly surprised. WAMPUM An Indian term for belts of small beads or shells that were used as money.

Many mountain men adopted this term to mean all money. WAR PATH. ON THE A person spoiling for a good fight is said to be "on the war path," WASNA To die. WHITE INDIAN A White man who went native and joined a tribe of Indians. Many captured White children became White Indians. WICKIUP The lodge of some southwestern Indian tribes. WIGWAM The dome-shaped lodge of some eastern Indian tribes. WILLOW KILLER The first real cold spell of Fall. When the leaves all fall off of the willows due to the cold, it is a sure sign that winter has arrived. WIPE OUT, A A massacre. Many a so-called "massacre" was not really one at all, as both sides had weapons and were able to and did fight. WOLFER A man who made his living hunting wolves for bounty. The wolfer was only considered a degree or two better than the hide hunter. Neither were ever considered a part of the skin (fur) trade. WOLFISH, I'M Mountains facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Mountains COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc.

MOUNTAINS CONCEPT Among the most striking of geologic features are mountains, created by several types of tectonic forces, including collisions between continental masses. Mountains have long had an impact on the human psyche, for instance by virtue of their association with the divine in the Greek myths, the Bible , and other religious or cultural traditions. One does not need to be a geologist to know what a mountain is; indeed there is no precise definition of mountain, though in most cases the distinction between a mountain and a hill is fairly obvious. On the other hand, the defining characteristics of a volcano are more apparent. Created by violent tectonic forces, a volcano usually is considered a mountain, and almost certainly is one after it erupts, pouring out molten rock and other substances from deep in the earth . HOW IT WORKS Plate Tectonics Earth is constantly moving, driven by forces beneath its surface. The interior of Earth itself is divided into three major sections: the crust, mantle, and core. The lithosphere is the upper layer of Earth's interior, including the crust and the brittle portion at the top of the mantle.

Tectonism is the deformation of the lithosphere, and the term tectonics refers to the study of this deformation. Most notable among examples of tectonic deformation is mountain building, or orogenesis, discussed later in this essay. The planet's crust is not all of one piece: it is composed of numerous plates, which are steadily moving in relation to one another. This movement is responsible for all manner of phenomena, including earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building. All these ideas and many more are encompassed in the concept of plate tectonics, which is the name for a branch of geologic and geophysical study and of a dominant principle often described as "the unifying theory of geology" (see Plate Tectonics). CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE. Tectonism results from the release and redistribution of energy from Earth's interior. This energy is either gravitational, and thus a function of the enormous mass at the planet's core, or thermal, resulting from the heat generated by radioactive decay. Differences in mass and heat within the planet's interior, known as pressure gradients, result in the deformation of rocks, placing many forms of stress and strain on them.

In scientific terms, stress is any attempt to deform an object, and strain is a change in dimension resulting from stress. Rocks experience stress in the form of tension, compression, and shear. Tension acts to stretch a material, whereas compression is a form of stress produced by the action of equal and opposite forces, whose effect is to reduce the length of a material. (Compression is a form of pressure.) Shear results from equal and opposite forces that do not act along the same plane. If a thick, hardbound book is lying flat, and one pushes the front cover from the side so that the covers and pages are no longer in alignment, is an example of shear. Rocks manifest the strain resulting from these stresses by warping, sliding, or breaking. They may even flow, as though they were liquids, or melt and thus truly become liquid. As a result, Earth's interior may manifest faults, or fractures in rocks, as well as folds, or bends in the rock structure. The effects can be seen on the surface in the form of subsidence, which is a depression in the crust; or uplift, the raising of crustal materials. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions also may result.

Orogenesis There are two basic types of tectonism: epeirogenesis and orogenesis. The first takes its namefrom the Greek words epeiros, meaning "mainland," and genesis, or "origin." Epeirogenesis, which takes the form of either uplift or subsidence, is a chiefly vertical form of movement and plays little role in either plate tectonics or mountain building. Orogenesis, on the other hand, is mountain building, as the prefix oros ("mountain") shows. Orogenesis involves the formation of mountain ranges by means of folding, faulting, and volcanic activity—lateral movements as opposed to vertical ones. Geologists typically use the term orogenesis, instead of just "mountain building," when discussing the formation of large belts of mountains from tectonic processes. PLATE MARGINS. Plates may converge (move toward one another), diverge (move away from one another), or experience transform motion, meaning that they slide against one another. Convergence usually is associated with subduction, in which one plate is forced down into the mantle and eventually undergoes partial melting. This typically occurs in the ocean, creating a depression known as an oceanic trench.

There are three types of plate margins, or boundaries between plates, depending on the two types of crusts that interact: oceanic with oceanic, continental with continental, or continental with oceanic. Any of these margins may be involved in mountain formation. Orogenic belts, or mountain belts, typically are situated in subduction zones at convergent plate boundaries and consist of two types. The first type occurs when igneous material (i.e., rock from volcanoes) forms on the upper plate of a subduction zone, causing the surface to rise. This can take place either in the oceanic crust, in which case the mountains formed are called island arcs, or along continental-oceanic margins. The Aleutian Islands are an example of an island arc, while the Andes range represent mountains formed by the subduction of an oceanic plate under a continental one. The second type of mountain belt occurs when continental plates converge or collide. When continental plates converge, one plate may "try" to subduct the other, but ultimately the buoyancy of the lower plate (which floats, as it were, on the lithosphere) pushes it upward. The result is the creation of a wide, unusually thick or "tall" belt.

An example is the Himalayas , the world's tallest mountain range, which is still being pushed upward as the result of a collision between India and Asia that happened some 30 million years ago. (See Plate Tectonics for more about continental drift and collisions between plates.) REAL-LIFE APPLICATIONS What Is a Mountain? In the 1995 film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, the British actor Hugh Grant plays an English cartographer, or mapmaker, sent in 1917 by his government to measure what is purportedly "the first mountain inside Wales ." He quickly determines that according to standards approved by His Majesty, the "mountain" in question is, in fact, a hill. Much of the film's plot thereafter revolves around attempts on the part of the villagers to rescue their beloved mountain from denigration as a "hill," a fate they prevent by piling enough rocks and dirt onto the top to make it meet specifications. This comedy aptly illustrates the somewhat arbitrary standards by which people define mountains.

The British naturalist Roderick Peattie (1891-1955), in his 1936 book Mountain Geography, maintained that mountains are distinguished by their impressive appearance, their individuality, and their impact on the human imagination. This sort of qualitative definition, while it is certainly intriguing, is of little value to science; fortunately, however, more quantitative standards exist. In Britain and the United States , a mountain typically is defined as a landform with an elevation of 985 ft. (300 m) above sea level. This was the standard applied in The Englishman, but the Welsh villagers would have had a hard time raising their "hill" to meet the standards used in continental Europe : 2,950 ft. (900 m) above sea level. This seems to be a more useful standard, because the British and American one would take in high plains and other nonmountainous regions of relatively great altitude. On the other hand, there are landforms in Scotland that rise only a few hundred meters above sea level, but their morphologic characteristics or shape seem to qualify them as mountains.

Not only are their slopes steep, but the presence of glaciers and snow-capped peaks, with their attendant severe weather and rocky, inhospitable soil, also seem to indicate the topography associated with mountains. Mountain Geomorphology One area of the geologic sciences especially concerned with the study of mountains is geomorphology, devoted to the investigation of land-forms. Geomorphologists studying mountains must draw on a wide variety of disciplines, including geology, climatology, biology, hydrology, and even anthropology, because, as discussed at the conclusion of this essay, mountains have played a significant role in the shaping of human social groups. From the standpoint of geology and plate tectonics, mountain geomorphology embraces a complex of characteristic formations, not all of which are necessarily present in a given orogen, or mountain. These include forelands and fore-deeps along the plains; foreland fold-and-thrust belts, which more or less correspond to "foothills" in layperson's terminology; and a crystalline core zone, composed of several types of rock, that is the mountain itself. ENVIRONMENTAL ZONES. Mountain geomorphology classifies various environmental zones, from lowest to highest altitude.

Near the bottom are flood plains, river terraces, and alluvial fans, all areas heavily affected by rivers flowing from higher elevations. (In fact, many of the world's greatest rivers flow from mountains, examples being the Himalayan Ganges and Indus rivers in Asia and the Andean Amazon in South America .) Farming villages may be found as high as the 9,845-ft. to 13,125-ft. range (3,000-4,000 m), an area known as a submontane, or forested region. The tree line typically lies at an altitude of 14,765 ft. (4,500 m). Above this point, there is little human activity but plenty of geologic activity, including rock slides, glacial flow, and, at very high altitudes, avalanches. From the tree line upward, the altitude levels that mark a particular region are differentiated for the Arctic and tropical zones, with much lower altitudes in the Arctic mountains. For instance, the tree line lies at about 330 ft. (100 m) in the much colder Arctic zone.

Above the tree line is the subalpine, or montane, region. The mean slope angle of the mountain is less steep here than it is at lower or higher elevations: in the submontane, or forested region, below the tree line, the slope is about 30°, and above the subalpine, in the high alpine, the slope can become as sharp at 65°. In the subalpine, however, it is only about 20°, and because grass (if not trees) grows in this region, it is suited for grazing. It may seem surprising to hear of shepherds bringing sheep to graze at altitudes of 16,400 ft. (5,000 m), as occurs in tropical zones. This does not necessarily mean that people live at such altitudes; more often than not, mountain dwellers have their settlements at lower elevations, and shepherds simply take their flocks up into the heights for grazing. Yet the ancient Bolivian city of Tiahuanaco, which flourished in about a.d.

600—some four centuries before the rise of the Inca—lay at an almost inconceivable altitude of 13,125 ft. (4,000 m), or about 2.5 times the elevation of Denver , Colorado , America's Mile-High City. Classifying Mountains There are several ways to classify mountains and groups of mountains. Mountain belts, as described earlier, typically are grouped according to formation process and types of plates: island arcs, continental arcs (formed with the subduction of an oceanic plate by a continental plate), and collisional mountain belts. Sometimes a mountain arises in isolation, an example being Kilimanjaro in Tanzania , Africa. Another example is Stone Mountain outside Atlanta , an exposed pluton, or a mass of crystalline igneous rock that forms deep in Earth's crust and rises. Many volcanoes, which we discuss later, arise individually, but mountains are most likely to appear in conjunction with other mountains. One such grouping, though far from the only one, is a mountain range, which can be defined as a relatively localized series of peaks and ridges. RANGES, CHAINS, AND MASSES.

Some of the world's most famous mountain ranges include the Himalayas, Karakoram Range, and Pamirs in central Asia; the Alps and Urals in Europe; the Atlas Mountains in Africa; the Andes in South America; and the Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, Rocky Mountains , and Appalachians as well as their associated ranges in North America . Ranges affiliated with the Appalachians, for instance, include the Great Smokies in the south and the Adirondacks, Alleghenies, and Poconos in the north. Several of the examples given here illustrate the fact that ranges are not the largest groupings of mountains. Sometimes series of ranges stretch across a continent for great distances in what are called mountain chains, an example of which is the Mediterranean chain of Balkans , Apennines , and Pyrenees that stretches across southern Europe. There also may be irregular groupings of mountains, which lack the broad linear sweep of mountain ranges or chains and which are known as mountain masses. The mountains surrounding the Tibetan plateau represent an example of a mountain mass. Finally, ranges, chains, and masses of mountains may be combined to form vast mountain systems.

An impressive example is the Alpine-Himalayan system, which unites parts of the Eurasian, Arabian, African, and Indo-Australian continental plates. OTHER TYPES OF MOUNTAIN. There are certain special types of orogeny, as when ocean crust subducts continental crust—something that is not supposed to happen but occasionally does. This rare variety of subduction is called obduction, and the mountains produced are called ophiolites. Examples include the uplands near Troodos in Cyprus and the Taconic Mountains in upstate New York . Fault-block mountains appear when two continental masses push against each other and the upper portion of a continental plate splits from the deeper rocks. A portion of the upper crust, usually several miles thick, begins to move slowly across the continent. Ultimately it runs into another mass, creating a ramp. This can result in unusually singular mountains, such as Chief Mountain in Montana , which slid across open prairie on a thrust sheet. Under the ocean is the longest mountain chain on Earth, the mid-ocean ridge system, which runs down the center of the Atlantic Ocean and continues through the Indian and Pacific oceans. Lava continuously erupts along this ridge, releasing geothermal energy and opening up new strips of ocean floor.

This brings us to a special kind of mountain, typically resulting from the sort of dramatic plate tectonic processes that also produce earthquakes: volcanoes. Volcanoes Most volcanoes are mountains, and for this reason, it is appropriate to discuss them together; however, a volcano is not necessarily a mountain. A volcano may be defined as a natural opening in Earth's surface through which molten (liquid), solid, and gaseous material erupts. The word volcano also is used to describe the cone of erupted material that builds up around the opening or fissure. Because these cones are often quite impressive in height, they frequently are associated with mountains. Though volcanic activity has been the case of death and destruction, it is essential to the planet's survival. Volcanic activity is the principal process through which chemical elements, minerals, and other compounds from Earth's interior reach its surface. These substances, such as carbon dioxide, have played a major role in the development of the planet's atmosphere, waters, and soils. Even today, soil in volcanic areas is among the richest on Earth.

Volcanoes provide additional benefits in their release of geothermal energy, used for heating and other purposes in such countries as Iceland , Italy, Hungary , and New Zealand (see Energy and Earth). In addition, volcanic activity beneath the oceans promises to supply almost limitless geothermal energy, once the technology for its extraction becomes available. FORMATION OF VOLCANOES. As noted earlier, land volcanoes are formed in coastal areas where continental and oceanic plates converge. As the oceanic plate is subducted and pushed farther and farther beneath the continental surface, the buildup of heat and pressure results in the melting of rock. This molten rock, or magma, tends to rise toward the surface and collect in magma reservoirs. Pressure buildup in the magma reservoir ultimately pushes the magma upward through cracks in Earth's crust, creating a volcano. Volcanoes also form underwater, in which case they are called seamounts. Convergence of oceanic plates causes one plate to sink beneath the other, creating an oceanic trench; as a result, magma rises from the subducted plate to fashion volcanoes. If the plates diverge, magma seeps upward at the ridge or margin between plates, producing more seafloor.

This process, known as seafloor spreading, leads to the creation of volcanoes on either side of the ridge. In some places a plate slides over a stationary area of volcanic activity, known as a hot spot. These are extremely hot plumes of magma that well up from the crust, though not on the edge or margin of a plate. A tectonic plate simply drifts across the hot spot, and as it does, the area just above the hot spot experiences volcanic activity. Hot spots exist in Hawaii , Iceland, Samoa , Bermuda , and America's Yellowstone National Park. CLASSIFYING VOLCANOES. Volcanoes can be classified in terms of their volcanic activity, in which case they are labeled as active (currently erupting), dormant (not currently erupting but likely to do so in the future), or extinct. In the case of an extinct volcano, no eruption has been noted in recorded history, and it is likely that the volcano has ceased to erupt permanently. In terms of shape, volcanoes fall into four categories: cinder cones, composite cones, shield volcanoes, and lava domes. These types are distinguished not only by morphologic characteristics but also by typical sizes and even angles of slope.

For instance, cinder cones, built of lava fragments, have slopes of 30° to 40°, and are seldom more than 1,640 ft. (500 m) in height. Composite cones, or stratovolcanoes, are made up of alternating layers of lava (cooled magma), ash, and rock. (The prefix strato refers to these layers.) They may slope as little as 5° at the base and as much as 30° at the summit. Stratovolcanoes may grow to be as tall as 2-3 mi. (3.2-4.8 km) before collapsing and are characterized by a sharp, dramatic shape. Examples include Fuji, a revered mountain that often serves as a symbol of Japan , and Washington state's Mount Saint Helens. A shield volcano, which may be a solitary formation and often is located over a hot spot, is built from lava flows that pile one on top of another. With a slope as little as 2° at the base and no more than 10° at the summit, shield volcanoes are much wider than stratovolcanoes, but sometimes they can be impressively tall.

Such is the case with Mauna Loa in Hawaii, which at 13,680 ft. (4,170 m) above sea level is the world's largest active volcano. Likewise, Mount Kilimanjaro, though long ago gone dormant, is the tallest mountain in Africa. Finally, there are lava domes, which are made of solid lava that has been pushed upward. Closely related is a volcanic neck, which often forms from a cinder cone. In the case of a volcanic neck, lava rises and erupts, leaving a mountain that looks like a giant gravel heap. Once it has become extinct, the lava inside the volcano begins to solidify. Over time the rock on the exterior wears away, leaving only a vent filled with solidified lava, usually in a funnel shape. A dramatic example of this appears at Shiprock, New Mexico . VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS. Volcanoes frequently are classified by the different ways in which they erupt. These types of eruption, in turn, result from differences in the material being disgorged from the volcano.

When the magma is low in gas and silica (silicon dioxide, found in sand and rocks), the volcano erupts in a relatively gentle way. Its lava is thin and spreads quickly. Gas and silica-rich magma, on the other hand, brings about a violent explosion that yields tarlike magma. There are four basic forms or phases of volcanic eruption: Hawaiian , Strombolian, Vulcanian, and Peleean. The Hawaiian phase is simply a fountain-like gush of runny lava, without any explosions. The Strombolian phase (named after a volcano on a small island off the Italian peninsula) involves thick lava and mild explosions. In a Vulcanian phase, magma has blocked the volcanic vent, and only after an explosion is the magma released, with the result that tons of solid material and gases are hurled into the sky. Most violent of all is the Peleean, named after Mount Pelée on Martinique in the Caribbean (discussed later). In the Peleean phase, the volcano disgorges thick lava, clouds of gas, and fine ash, all at formidable velocities.

Accompanying a volcanic eruption in many cases are fierce rains, the result of the expulsion of steam from the volcano, after which the steam condenses in the atmosphere to form clouds. Gases thrown into the atmosphere are often volatile and may include hydrogen sulfide, fluorine, carbon dioxide, and radon. All are detrimental to human beings when present in sufficient quantity, and radon is radioactive. Not surprisingly, the eruption of a volcano completely changes the morphologic characteristics of the landform. During the eruption a crater is formed, and out of this flows magma and ash, which cool to form the cone. In some cases, the magma chamber collapses just after the eruption, forming a caldera, or a large, bowl-shaped crater. These caldera (the plural as well as singular form) may fill with water, as was the case at Oregon's Crater Lake. INFAMOUS VOLCANIC DISASTERS. Volcanoes result from some of the same tectonic forces as earthquakes (see Seismology), and, not surprisingly, they often have resulted in enormous death and destruction. Some remarkable examples include: Vesuvius, Italy, a.d.

79 and 1631: Situated along the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, Vesuvius has erupted more than 50 times during the past two millennia. Its most famous eruption occurred in a.d. 79, when the Roman Empire was near the height of its power. The first-century eruption buried the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum , where bodies and buildings were preserved virtually intact until excavation of the area in 1748. Another eruption, in 1631, killed some 4,000 people. Krakatau, Indonesia , a.d. 535 (?) and 1883: The most famous eruption of Krakatau occurred in 1883, resulting in the loss of some 36,000 lives. The explosion, which was heard 3,000 mi. away, threw 70-lb. (32-kg) boulders as far as 50 mi. (80 km). It also produced a tsunami, or tidal wave, 130 ft. (40 m) high, which swept away whole villages.

In addition, the blast hurled so much dust into the atmosphere that the Moon appeared blue or green for two years. It is also possible that Krakatau erupted in about a.d. 535, causing such a change in the atmosphere that wide areas of the world experienced years without summer. (See Earth Systems for more on this subject.) Tambora, Indonesia, 1815: Another Indonesian volcano, Tambora, killed 12,000 people when it erupted in 1815. As with Krakatau in 535, this eruption was responsible for a year without summer in 1816 (see Earth Systems). Pelée, Martinique, 1902: When Mount Pelée erupted on the Caribbean island of Martinique, it sent tons of poisonous gas and hot ash spilling over the town of Saint-Pierre, killing all but four of its 29,937 residents. Saint Helens, Washington, 1980: Relatively small compared with earlier volcanoes, the Mount Saint Helens blast is still significant because it was so recent and took place in the United States. The eruption sent debris flying upward 1,300 ft.

(396 m) and caused darkness over towns as far as 85 mi. (137 km) away. Fifty-seven people died in the eruption and its aftermath. Pinatubo, Philippines , 1991: Dormant for 600 years, Mount Pinatubo began to rumble one day in 1991 and, after a few days, erupted in a cloud that spread ash 6 ft. (1.83 m) deep along a radius of 2 mi. (3.2 km). A U.S. air base 15 mi. (24 km) away was buried. The blast threw 20 million tons (18,144,000 metric tons) of sulfuric acid 12 mi. (19 km) into the stratosphere, and the cloud ultimately covered the entire planet, resulting in moderate cooling for a few weeks. The Impact of Mountains Volcanic eruptions are among the most dramatic effects produced by mountains, but they are far from the only ones. Every bit as fascinating are the effects mountains produce on the weather, on the evolution of species, and on human society.

In each case, mountains serve as a barrier or separator—between masses of air, clouds, and populations. Wind pushes air and moisture-filled clouds up mountain slopes, and as the altitude increases, the pressure decreases. As a result, masses of warm, moist air become larger, cooler, and less dense. This phenomenon is known as adiabatic expansion, and it is the same thing that happens when an aerosol can is shaken, reducing the pressure of gases inside and cooling the surface of the can. Under the relatively high-pressure and high-temperature conditions of the flatlands, water exists as a gas, but in the heights of the mountaintops, it cools and condenses, forming clouds. RAIN SHADOWS. As the clouds rise along the side of the mountain, they begin to release heavy droplets in the form of rain and, at higher altitudes, snow. By the time the cloud crosses the top of the mountain, however, it will have released most of its moisture, and hence the other side of the mountain may be arid. The leeward side, or the side opposite the wind, becomes what is called a rain shadow. Although they are only 282 mi.

(454 km) apart, the cities of Seattle and Spokane, Washington, have radically different weather patterns. Famous for its almost constant rain, Seattle lies on the windward, or wind-facing, side of the Cascade Range, toward the Pacific Ocean . On the leeward side of the Cascades is Spokane, where the weather is typically warm and dry. Though it is only on the other side of the state, Spokane might as well be on the other side of the continent. Indeed, it is associated more closely with the arid expanses of Idaho , whereas Seattle belongs to a stretch of cold, wet Pacific terrain that includes San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. Much of the western United States consists of deserts formed by rain shadows or, in some cases, double rain shadows. Much of New Mexico, for instance, lies in a double rain shadow created by the Rockies in the west and Mexico's Sierra Madres to the south. In southern California , tall redwoods line the lush windward side of the Sierra Nevadas, while Death Valley and the rest of the Mojave Desert lies in the rain shadow on the eastern side.

The Great Basin that covers eastern Oregon, southern Idaho, much of Utah , and almost all of Nevada , likewise is created by the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada-Cascade chain. MOUNTAINS AND SPECIES. One of the most intriguing subjects involved in the study of mountains is their effects on large groups of plants, animals, and humans. Mountains may separate entire species, creating pockets of flora and fauna virtually unknown to the rest of the world. Thus, during the 1990s, huge numbers of species that had never been catalogued were discovered in the mountains of southeast Asia. The formation of mountains and other landforms may even lead to speciation, a phenomenon in which members of a species become incapable of reproducing with other members, thus creating a new species. When the Colorado River cut open the Grand Canyon, it separated groups of squirrels that lived in the high-altitude pine forest. Over time these populations ceased to interbreed, and today the Kaibab squirrel of the north rim and the Abert squirrel of the south are separate species, no more capable of interbreeding than humans and apes. HUMAN SOCIETIES AND MOUNTAINS.

Although the Appalachians of the eastern United States are hundreds of millions of years old, most ranges are much younger. Most will erode or otherwise cease to exist in a relatively short time (short, that is, by geologic standards), yet to humans throughout the ages, mountains have seemed a symbol of permanence. This is just one aspect of mountains' impact on the human psyche. In his 1975 study of symbolism in political movements, Utopia and Revolution, Melvin J. Lasky devoted considerable space to the mountain and its association with divinity through figures such as the Greek Olympians and Noah and Moses in the Bible. Clearly, mountains have proved enormously influential on human attitudes, and nowhere is this more obvious than in relation to the people who live in the mountains. Whether the person is a coal miner from Appalachia or a rancher from the Rockies, a Scottish highlander or a Quechua-speaking Peruvian, the mentality is similar, characterized by a combination of hardiness, fierce independence, and disdain for lowland ways. These characteristics, combined with the harsh weather of the mountains, have made mountain warfare a challenge to lowland invaders.

This explains the fact that Switzerland has kept itself free from involvement in European wars since Napoleon's time, and why the independent Scottish Highlands were long a thorn in England 's side. It also explains why neither the British nor the Russian empires could manage to control Afghanistan fully during their struggle over that mountainous nation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Britain eventually pulled out of the "Great Game," as this struggle was called, but Russia never really did. Many years later, the Soviets became bogged down in a war in Afghanistan that they could not win. The war, which lasted from 1979 to 1989, helped bring about the end of the Soviet Union and its system of satellite dictatorships. More than a decade later, as the United States launched strikes against Afghanistan in 2001, a superpower once again faced the challenge posed by one of the poorest, most inhospitable nations on Earth. But the independence of the mountaineer is deceptive; in fact, mountains have little to offer, economically, other than their beauty and the resources deep beneath their surfaces. In other words, they are really of value only to flatland tourists and mining companies.

Since few mountain environments offer much promise agriculturally, the people of the mountains are dependent on the flatlands for sustenance. Gorgeous and rugged as they are, such mountainous states as Colorado or Wyoming might be as poor as Afghanistan were it not for the fact that they belong to a larger political unit, the United States. WHERE TO LEARN MORE COPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group, Inc. Mountain A mountain is any landmass on Earth 's surface that rises to a great height in comparison to its surrounding landscape. Mountains usually have more-or-less steep sides meeting in a summit that is much narrower in width than the mountain's base. Although single mountains exist, most occur as a group, called a mountain range. A group of ranges that share a common origin and form is known as a mountain system. A group of systems is called a mountain chain. Finally, a complex group of continental (land-based) ranges, systems, and chains is called a mountain belt or cordillera (pronounced kordee-YARE-ah). The greatest mountain systems are the Alps of Europe , the Andes of South America , the Himalayas of Asia , and the Rockies of North America .

Notable single peaks in these systems include Mont Blanc (Alps), Aconcagua (Andes), Everest (Himalayas), and Elbert (Rockies). The Himalayas is the world's highest mountain system, containing some 30 peaks rising to more than 25,000 feet (7,620 meters). Included among these peaks is the world's highest, Mount Everest, at 29,028 feet (8,848 meters) above sea level. North America's highest peak is Mount McKinley, part of the Alaska Range, which rises 20,320 feet (6,194 meters). Mountains, like every other thing in the natural world, go through a life cycle. They rise from a variety of causes and wear down over time at various rates. Individual mountains do not last very long in the powerfully erosive atmosphere of Earth. Mountains on the waterless world of Mars are billions of years old, but Earth's peaks begin to fracture and dissolve as soon as their rocks are exposed to the weathering action of wind and rain. This is why young mountains are high and rugged, while older mountains are lower and smoother.

Words to Know The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press mountain, high land mass projecting conspicuously above its surroundings and usually of limited width at its summit. Although isolated mountains are not unusual, mountains commonly form ranges, comprising either a single complex ridge or a series of related ridges. A group of ranges closely related in form, origin, and alignment is a mountain system; an elongated group of systems is a chain; and a complex of ranges, systems, and chains continental in extent is called a cordillera, zone, or belt. Global Distribution and Impact on Humanity Most of the great mountain systems now in existence were developed fairly late in geologic history. The greatest mountain masses are in North and South America, including the Andes, Rockies, Sierra Nevada, and Coast Ranges of the United States, Canada, and Alaska; and the Eurasian mountain belt, in which lie the Pyrenees, Atlas, Alps, Balkans, Caucasus, Hindu Kush, Himalayas, and other ranges.

Among notable single peaks are Everest, K2 (Godwin-Austen), and Kanchenjunga in Asia; Aconcagua, Chimborazo, and Cotopaxi in South America; McKinley, Logan, and Popocatepetl in North America; Mont Blanc and Elbrus in Europe; Kilimanjaro, Kenya, and Ruwenzori in Africa. Mountains have important effects upon the climate, population, economy, and state of civilization of the regions in which they occur. By intercepting prevailing winds they cause precipitation; regions on the windward side of a great range thus have plentiful rainfall, while those on its lee side are arid. Mountains are in general thinly populated, not only because the cold climate and rarefied atmosphere of high regions are unfavorable to human life, but also because the higher reaches of mountains are unfit for agriculture. Mountains frequently contain valuable mineral ores, deposited out of solution by water or by gases. Mountains act as natural barriers between countries and peoples; they determine the routes followed by traders, migrants, and invading armies. The difficulties of travel and communication in mountain regions tend to favor political disunity. The Origins of Mountains Mountains and mountain ranges have varied origins.

Some are the erosional remnants of plateaus ; others are cones built up by volcanoes , such as Mt. Rainier in Washington, or domes pushed up by intrusive igneous rock (see rock ), such as the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Henry Mts., Utah. Fault-block mountains (see fault ) are formed by the raising of huge blocks of the earth's surface relative to the neighboring blocks. The Basin and Range region of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah is one of the most extensive regions of fault-block mountains. All the great mountain chains of the earth are either fold mountains or complex structures in whose formation folding, faulting, or igneous activity have taken part. The growth of folded or complex mountain ranges is preceded by the accumulation of vast thicknesses of marine sediments. It was first suggested in the late 1800s that these sediments accumulated in elongated troughs, or geosynclines, that were occupied by arms of the sea. While some of the sediment was derived from the interior of the continent, great quantities of sediment were apparently derived from regions now offshore from the continent. For examples, sedimentary rocks of the Appalachian Mts.

formed in a vast geosyncline that extended from the Gulf states northeastward through the eastern states and New England, and into E Canada. It is now recognized that great thicknesses of sediment can occur wherever there is subsidence (lowering of the earth's crust). The best modern analogues of geosynclines appear to be the thick deposits of sediment making up the continental shelves and continental rises (see ocean ). Most geologists now believe that the geosynclinal sediments found in mountain ranges were initially deposited under similar conditions. The period of sedimentation is followed by folding and thrust faulting, with most high mountain ranges uplifted vertically subsequent to folding. The movements of the earth's surface that result in the building of mountains are compression, which produces folding, thrust faulting, and possibly some normal faulting; tension, which produces most normal faulting; and vertical uplift. Mountains are subject to continuous erosion during and after uplift. Sharp peaks are formed and are subsequently attacked and leveled. Mountains may be entirely base-leveled, or they may be rejuvenated by new uplifts. The ultimate cause of mountain-building forces has been a source of controversy, and many hypotheses have been suggested.

An old hypothesis held that earth movements were adjustments of the crust of the earth to a shrinking interior that contracted and set up stresses due either to heat loss or gravitational compaction. Another hypothesis suggested that earth movements were primarily isostatic, i.e., adjustments that kept the weights of sections of the crust nearly equal (see continent ). A third hypothesis, popular from the early 1960s to today, ascribed mountain-building stresses to convection currents in a hot semiplastic region in the earth's mantle. According to the plate tectonics theory, the lithosphere is broken into several plates, each consisting of oceanic crust, continental crust, or a combination of both. These plates are in constant motion, sideswiping one another or colliding, and continually changing in size and shape. Where two plates collide, compressional stresses are generated along the margin of the plate containing a continent. Such stresses result in the deformation and uplift of the continental shelf and continental rise sediments into complex folded and faulted mountain chains (see seafloor spreading ; continental drift ). Bibliography See W. M. Bueler, Mountains of the World (1970); K.

Hsu, Mountain Building Processes (1986); A. J. Gerrard, Mountain Environments (1990). Cite this article The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press the Mountain, in French history, the label applied to deputies sitting on the raised left benches in the National Convention during the French Revolution. Members of the faction, known as Montagnards [Mountain Men] saw themselves as the embodiment of national unity. Its followers included Jacobins elected from Paris as well as the Cordeliers and the followers of Jacques Roux . Approximately 300 of the 750 deputies associated themselves with the Mountain. Although party lines were not sharply drawn, the Mountain's opponents were the more moderate Girondists . Prominent Montagnards Robespierre , Georges Danton , and Jean Paul Marat were elected from Paris. The fall of the Girondists (June, 1793) was a victory for the Mountain, whose members ruled France under the Reign of Terror (1793–94). The Montain sponsored the Revolutionary Tribunal, the surveillance committees, the Committee of Public Safety, and the levée en masse.

Its deputies went on missions, wielding unlimited powers, to defend the Revolution in the provinces and at the fronts. It was supported by Jacobin propaganda. The fall of Robespierre, 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794), supported by some of the Mountain, split the Mountain and led to its downfall. The romance of the Mountain led the revolutionary left of 1848 to call themselves the Mountain as well. See Plain, the . Cite this article The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English © The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English 2009, originally published by Oxford University Press 2009. moun·tain / ˈmountn/ • n. a large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level; a large steep hill: the village is backed by awe-inspiring mountains we set off down the mountain | [as adj.] the ice and snow of a mountain peak. ∎ (mountains) a region where there are many such features, characterized by remoteness and inaccessibility: they sought refuge in the mountains | [as adj.] (mountain) his attempt to picture the mountain folk in ridiculous attire.

∎ (a mountain/mountains of) a large pile or quantity of something: a mountain of paperwork. ∎ a large surplus stock of a commodity: this farming produced huge food mountains. PHRASES: make a mountain out of a molehillsee molehill. move mountains 1. achieve spectacular and apparently impossible results. 2. make every possible effort: his fans move mountains to catch as many of his performances as possible. DERIVATIVES: The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable © The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. mountains Mountains of the Moon the type of a very remote place; further than one can imagine, the ends of the earth. The term is also used by Ptolemy as the supposed source of the Nile , and is thought there to designate the Ruwenzori mountain range in central Africa. move mountains achieve spectacular and apparently impossible results; make every possible effort. Often referring to the saying faith will move mountains , ultimately with biblical allusion, as to Matthew 17:20.

Question: The phrase "Mountain Standard Time Zone" refers to which mountains?
Answer: Rockies