Mountains are found on every continent and in every environment on Earth. Mountains are even found in space! The largest mountain in our solar system is Olympus Mons which is found on planet Mars.
Some mountains rise from the seabed and are completely submerged under the water. In some cases these mountains are visible only at the tip in the form of islands. Some of these underwater mountains are even taller than Mt. Everest. For Example Mauna Kea, which is found in Hawaii, is actually a high mountain rising from the seafloor of the Pacific plate. It is almost 500 m higher than Mt. Everest!
Most mountains are part of a mountain range. A mountain range consists of several mountains or hills connected in a line and by high ground. They are usually formed by the same geological process. Most mountain ranges are usually formed as a result of plate tectonics, that is, movements of the large slabs of solid rock in the Earth’s outer shell. Therefore, they are formed at the edges of continents.
A group of mountain ranges is called a mountain system or a cordillera. The tallest mountain range in the world is the Himalayas in Central Asia and the longest is the Andes in South America. Mountain ranges are also found under the sea, such as the mid-ocean ridge, which is nearly 65,000 km long.
Picture Credit : Google
