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Spain is a country where mountains are very important, being one of the European states with the largest number of mountainous entities, and occupying a large part of our landscape. To better understand these typographic events that populate our planet, today in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to talk about what are the parts of a mountain and that way you know better how they are formed. Get to know our geology better and understand Mother Earth!

Index

1. What are mountains?
2. Formation of the mountains
3. The 4 parts of the mountain

Mountains are natural elevations of the terrain, that is, elevations of more than 700 meters. They can be grouped into mountain ranges or mountain ranges, the latter being larger groups.

Mountains are of great value to human beings, since the rivers are born in them, and more than half of humanity survives thanks to the water they receive from the mountains. They occupy a quarter of the surface of our planet, occupying more than half of the Asian and American surface.

Mountainous areas can be inhabited, with around 10% of the world's population living in mountain regions. Even so, the mountain climate is harsh, being quite cold, due to the altitude, since the higher the altitude the more cold.

All mountains have the same parts, being able to vary their size or shape, but not the existence of the three zones in which they are divided. This is because all mountains arise from a series of equal processes, thus having a similar structure.

Mountains are formed by external factors and by internal factors.

Internal factors of mountain formation

Internal factors can be the movements of tectonic plates, while external factors are elements such as the weather. Mountain-building processes related to internal factors are called orogenesis. During this process, the tectonic plates undergo a series of movements, which cause the plates to fold or roll up, altering the crust and thus forming a series of elevations, which are the moutains.

External factors

On the other hand, there are external factors, these being the so-called erosion. Erosion is a process in which, through wear, the mountain takes on a certain shape, that is, the conical shape that we all know. Erosion can be due to several elements, but the main ones are water and ice.

Therefore, we can say that both internal and external factors work together to create what we call a mountain. It could be said that the internal factors or orogenesis are those that create the mountain, and that the external factors or erosion are those that give shape to it. The two processes give rise to all the mountains, having all the same parts, whatever their height.

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To conclude this lesson on what are the parts of a mountain, we must talk about the 4 divisions that mountains have. These parts appear in all mountains, regardless of their height or the habitat that is predominant in them. The 4 parts are as follows:

Top

The top is the highest part of a mountain, being characterized by low temperatures and high humidity. The word top can be used to refer only to the peak of the mountain or to the entire top of it, although it is more commonly used to refer to the peak. The top is an important part of the mountain, serving so that it can be seen from a huge distance, since at great distances the only thing that can be seen from the mountain is the top.

Skirt or hillside

The part of mountain center, that is to say, the one located between the top and the foot, receives the name of both the skirt and the slope. It is a part that undergoes many changes, being the victim of erosion and other climatic effects.

Foot

The lower part of the mountain, being the place where the ascent begins the mountain. It is a very important part, since it is the part that supports the entire mountainous structure, and the part that unites the mountain with the rest of the earth's surface.

Valley

Although it is not one of the three parts that make up the structure of the mountain, it can also be considered as one of its parts, although not all mountains have one. The valleys are flat spaces between two nearby mountains, being a kind of depression.

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