List of mountain types
Encyclopedia
Mountain
s can be characterized in several ways. Some mountains are volcano
es and can be characterized by the type of lava and eruptive history. Other mountains are shaped by glacial
processes and can be characterized by their shape. Finally, many mountains can be characterized by the type of rock that make up their composition.
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s can be characterized in several ways. Some mountains are volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es and can be characterized by the type of lava and eruptive history. Other mountains are shaped by glacial
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
processes and can be characterized by their shape. Finally, many mountains can be characterized by the type of rock that make up their composition.
Types of volcanoes/volcanic landforms
- CalderaCalderaA caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
- Cinder coneCinder coneAccording to the , Cinder Cone is the proper name of 1 cinder cone in Canada and 7 cinder cones in the United States:In Canada: Cinder Cone In the United States:...
- Complex volcanoComplex volcanoA complex volcano, also called a compound volcano, is a volcano with more than one feature. They form because changes of their eruptive characteristics or the location of multiple vents in an area...
- CryovolcanoCryovolcanoA cryovolcano is a volcano that erupts volatiles such as water, ammonia or methane, instead of molten rock. Collectively referred to as cryomagma or ice-volcanic melt, these substances are usually liquids and form plumes, but can also be in vapour form...
- Fissure ventFissure ventA fissure vent, also known as a volcanic fissure or simply fissure, is a linear volcanic vent through which lava erupts, usually without any explosive activity. The vent is usually a few meters wide and may be many kilometers long. Fissure vents can cause large flood basalts and lava channels...
- GuyotGuyotA guyot , also known as a tablemount, is an isolated underwater volcanic mountain , with a flat top over 200 meters below the surface of the sea. The diameters of these flat summits can exceed ....
- Lava domeLava dome|250px|thumb|right|Image of the [[rhyolitic]] lava dome of [[Chaitén Volcano]] during its 2008–2009 eruption.In volcanology, a lava dome is a roughly circular mound-shaped protrusion resulting from the slow extrusion of viscous lava from a volcano...
- Monogenetic volcanic fieldMonogenetic volcanic fieldA monogenetic volcanic field is a volcanic field of small, scattered volcanic vents. These volcanic fields, containing numerous monogenetic volcanoes, are noted for having only one short eruptive event at each volcano, as opposed to regular volcanoes that have several eruptions from the same vent...
- Mud volcanoMud volcanoThe term mud volcano or mud dome are used to refer to formations created by geo-excreted liquids and gases, although there are several different processes which may cause such activity. Hot water mixes with mud and surface deposits. Mud volcanoes are associated with subduction zones and about 700...
- Pancake domePancake domeA pancake dome, also known as a lava dome, is an unusual type of volcano found on the planet Venus. They are widely scattered on that planet and often form groups or clusters, though with smaller numbers of pancake domes in each group than is typical for the more common shield volcanos...
- Polygenetic volcanic fieldPolygenetic volcanic fieldA polygenetic volcanic field is a volcanic field of scattered volcanic vents. These volcanic fields, containing numerous polygenetic volcanoes, are noted for having more than one eruptive event from the same vent, rather than the more common monogenetic volcanic field. Polygenetic volcanic fields...
- Pyroclastic cone
- Pyroclastic shieldPyroclastic shieldIn volcanology, a pyroclastic shield or terrestrial ignimbrite shield is an uncommon type of shield volcano. Unlike most shield volcanoes, pyroclastic shields are formed mostly of pyroclastic and highly explosive eruptions rather than relatively fluid basaltic lava issuing from vents or fissures on...
- Shield volcanoShield volcanoA shield volcano is a type of volcano usually built almost entirely of fluid lava flows. They are named for their large size and low profile, resembling a warrior's shield. This is caused by the highly fluid lava they erupt, which travels farther than lava erupted from more explosive volcanoes...
- StratovolcanoStratovolcanoA stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
(also known as a Composite volcano) - Subaqueous volcanoSubaqueous volcanoA subaqueous volcano is a volcano formed beneath water and never builds above lake level. They are commonly in the form of gently sloping tuff cones, although they can sometimes have an unvolcano-like form, such as White Horse Bluff in the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field of east-central...
- Subglacial moundSubglacial moundA subglacial mound is a type of subglacial volcano. This type of volcano forms when lava erupts beneath a thick glacier or ice sheet. The magma forming these volcanoes was not hot enough to melt a vertical pipe right through the overlying glacial ice, instead forming hyaloclastite and pillow lava...
- Subglacial volcanoSubglacial volcanoA subglacial volcano, also known as a glaciovolcano, is a volcanic form produced by subglacial eruptions or eruptions beneath the surface of a glacier or ice sheet which is then melted into a lake by the rising lava...
- Submarine volcanoSubmarine volcanoSubmarine volcanoes are underwater fissures in the Earth's surface from which magma can erupt. They are estimated to account for 75% of annual magma output. The vast majority are located near areas of tectonic plate movement, known as ocean ridges...
- SupervolcanoSupervolcanoA supervolcano is a volcano capable of producing a volcanic eruption with an ejecta volume greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers . This is thousands of times larger than most historic volcanic eruptions. Supervolcanoes can occur when magma in the Earth rises into the crust from a hotspot but is...
- Somma volcanoSomma volcanoA somma volcano is a volcanic caldera that has been partially filled by a new central cone. The name comes from Mount Somma , a stratovolcano in southern Italy with a summit caldera in which the cone of Mount Vesuvius has grown.A number of the world's best examples of somma volcanoes are found on...
- Volcanic craterVolcanic craterA volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...
- Volcanic fieldVolcanic fieldA volcanic field is an area of the Earth's crust that is prone to localized volcanic activity. They usually contain 10 to 100 volcanoes, such as cinder cones and are usually in clusters. Lava flows may also occur...
- Volcanic plugVolcanic plugA volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic landform created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When forming, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of pressure if volatile-charged magma is trapped beneath it, and this can sometimes lead to an...
Types of rock
- IgneousIgneous rockIgneous rock is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava...
(see types of volcanoes, above) - MetamorphicMetamorphic rockMetamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
- SedimentarySedimentary rockSedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
Other Types of Mountains
- FoldFold mountainFold mountains are mountains formed mainly by the effects of folding on layers within the upper part of the Earth's crust. In the time before either plate tectonic theory developed, or the internal architecture of thrust belts became well understood, the term was used for most mountain belts, such...
- Fault-block mountainFault-block mountainFault-block landforms are formed when large areas of bedrock are widely broken up by faults creating large vertical displacements of continental crust....
- MonadnockMonadnockA monadnock or inselberg is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain...
- SeamountSeamountA seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...
- DomeDome (geology)In structural geology, a dome is a deformational feature consisting of symmetrically-dipping anticlines; their general outline on a geologic map is circular or oval...