Mountain - Encyclopedia of Earth: "A mountain can be defined as an area of land that rises abruptly from the surrounding region. A mountain range is a succession of many closely spaced mountains covering a particular region of the Earth. Mountain belts consist of several mountain ranges that run roughly parallel to each other. The North American Cordillera, the Himalayas, the Alps, and the Appalachians are all examples of mountain belts that are composed of numerous mountain ranges.
Some mountains are volcanic in origin forming where rising magma breaks through the Earth's surface. Volcanic mountains tend to have sporadic distributions within a mountain range (Mounts St. Helens, Rainier, and Baker) or can occur alone because of a localized hot spot (Hawaiian Islands). Most mountains were created from tectonic forces that elevate, fold, and fault rock materials. Tectonic mountains can occur as a single range (the Urals) or as a belt of several mountain ranges (North American Cordillera). Figures 1 and 2 show the location of some of the major mountain systems found on the Earth's surface. These major mountain systems include the North American Cordillera, Andes, Alps, Urals, Appalachians, Himalaya, Caledonian Belt, and the Tasman Belt.
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