As long as humanity remembers its history, so many daredevils existed who were attracted by the majestic mountain peaks. The romance of mountaineering has existed for a long time, and to this day many devote their whole lives to conquering new heights. Russia is a country with a harsh climate and an unimaginable variety of relief, the most attractive and dangerous of which are mountains. Eight peaks are classified as "5-thousanders", while all of them represent a real danger even for the most experienced climbers. Based on the data of a special geographical registry, we will present to your attention the 15 highest mountains in Russia, all of them, except for Klyuchevskaya Sopka, are located in the mountain system of the Greater Caucasus.
The territory of Russia is huge, so it is not surprising that dozens of waterfalls are scattered on it, in its most diverse corners. Some of them are so...
1st place - Elbrus (5642 m)
At the same time it is the highest point in Russia and all of Europe. The peak is located between Kabardino-Balkaria and Cherkessia, in the northern part of the Greater Caucasus Range. The name "Elbrus" is translated from Georgian as "ice", from Kabardian as "mountain of happiness", from Iranian - "high mountain", from Karachay-Circassian - "eternal mountain". One way or another, the summit strikes with its icy grandeur and is remembered for a long time. During the Great Patriotic War, the Nazis climbed Elbrus, after which they installed banners with a swastika at its highest point. The idea of the Nazi scientists was to rename the mountain to "Hitler's Peak", but the enemy was destroyed by Soviet mountaineers in 1943. The conquest of Elbrus is one of the newfangled trends; for this, several routes of varying degrees of difficulty were laid along the mountainside. At the foot of the peak, a ski resort has been operating for many years.
2nd place - Dykhtau (5204 m)
The conquest of Dykhtau took place in 1888, just at the time when Britain was searching for Jack the Ripper, and Brazil issued a decree abolishing slavery. The pyramidal peak is located in Kabardino-Balkaria, in the region of the northern ridge of the Caucasus Mountains. From a technical point of view, climbing the Steep Mountain is not easy, so only professional rock climbers manage to complete this path to the end. Most of Dykhtau is covered with a thick layer of ice, and includes three peaks - the Main, Eastern and separate, named after A.S. Pushkin.
3rd place - Koshtantau (5152 m)
The name translates as "a mountain that looks like a distant dwelling." Koshtantau is considered one of the least accessible among all the peaks of the Caucasus. On the northern part of the mountain there are marble glaciers that have taken dozens of human lives. Few managed to conquer the impregnable peak, tragedies and deaths are not uncommon here. So, for example, 11 years before the first ascent of it, in 1888, two English climbers and two Swiss climbers died here.
4th place - Pushkin Peak (5100 m)
The mountain received its name in 1938, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of the great Russian poet. Pushkin Peak is located in the heart of the Main Caucasian Range, on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria and is part of the Dykhtau glacier. Mountain climbers jokingly compare the peak with a high gendarme standing on the ridge due to the fact that Pushkin Peak dominates the rest of the nearby heights.
5th place - Dzhangitau (5085 m)
Translated from Karachay-Balkar, the name of the peak means "new mountain". Dzhangitau is part of a 12-kilometer mountain range belonging to the Bezengi wall. It is considered one of the most popular peaks among climbers, and for its conquest, a professional badge of honor "Snow Leopard of Russia" is awarded. The ascent to the very top was made in 1888 by John Kokin, and the first to receive a well-deserved award for passing the climbing standard was the Russian rock climber Bukinich.
Rivers entangle all of Russia like a web. If you count them all to the smallest, you get over 2.5 million! But the vast majority of them...
6th place - Shkhara (5193 meters)
Shkhara (or "striped") - won recognition as one of the most beautiful peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. Its slopes shine from sparkling glaciers, and the geological component of the mountain is granite and schist, along which dazzling ice rivers flow. The entire area of Shkhara is indented with faults, grottoes and caves, and the exits from them are often covered with sparkling waterfalls. The mountain beckons, fascinates and inspires fear at the same time, and at its foot is the small village of Ushguli, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. For the first time the summit was conquered by climbers from the Soviet Union in 1933.
7th place - Kazbek (5032 m)
Kazbek (or "ice peak") - is a stratovolcano, extinct in 650 BC. The first ascent was made by two Englishmen in 1868. The mountain is located on the Georgian-Russian border and, more than all other peaks, is shrouded in legends, myths and legends. Until now, local residents perform a ritual of sacrifice on its slopes, and according to legend, once a young man was chained on Kazbek, punished by the gods for his desire to bring fire to mankind. Today, a military road passes by the top, and on one of the slopes there is a non-functioning weather station.
8th place - Mizhirgi (5025 m)
At first glance, it may seem that the name of the peak has Asian roots, but this is not so. The name of the mountain was given by Tver researchers and is translated from one of the local dialects as "connecting". The ridge is essentially a huge glacier, which once connected with neighboring ones and became even larger. Geological processes are still taking place today, and, according to scientists, in the near future Mizhirgi may become even larger. It is believed that the first person to step on the top of the mountain was the Balkar shepherd Attaev, and this was in the middle of the 19th century.
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9th place - Kukurtli-Kolbashi (4978 m)
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The summit belongs to the western spur of the Elbrus massif, located in Karachay-Cherkessia. In different sources, the value of the height of the mountain is the difference from 4624 to 4978 m.
Translated from the Circassian, the name Kyukurtlu is translated as "sulfur mountain".
10th place - Katyn-Tau (4970 m)
The name is translated from the Balkar language as "mountain woman". The summit is located in the Bezengi region and is part of the Bezengi wall. Geographically, Katyn-Tau belongs to Kabardino-Balkaria, and the entire territory of the mountain is located on the territory of a protected area, which also includes the Cherek River.
11th place - Shota Rustaveli Peak (4860 m)
It is located in the central part of the Main Range of the Caucasus Mountains and is the border region between Georgia (Svaneti) and Russia (Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria). The name of the peak was given in honor of the great Georgian poet and statesman who lived in the 12th century. The mountain is considered very treacherous due to the likelihood of unforeseen avalanches and glaciers descending into the neighboring canyon. The date of the first ascent is 1937, since then more than a dozen climbers have climbed to the top. The most acceptable time to conquer the peak is summer and early autumn.
12th place - Gestola (4860 m)
It is one of the peaks belonging to the Benzegi wall of the main ridge of the Caucasus Mountains. On the north side, Gestola has the shape of a triangle, which clearly stands out against the background of the Benzegi wall. From a bird's eye view, the peak looks like an almost perfect pyramid, at the base of which is a square, which is oriented to the cardinal points at an angle of 45 degrees. Today, many routes of varying degrees of difficulty have been laid along the slopes of Gestola, while climbing to the top point can be done from several parts, including through Lyalver and Yesenin Peak.
Every year the population of large cities, and, hence, their territory continues to increase steadily. Therefore, you can compare cities not only by ...
13th place - Jimara (4780 m)
It is one of the numerous peaks of the Greater Caucasus. Located in North Ossetia, east of Bezengi, on the Khokh Ridge, the distance to Kazbek is about 9 km. Jimara is a cluster of glaciers, each of which has its own name - Midagrabin in the west and Suatisi in the south.
14th place - Klyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m)
The second name is Klyuchevskoy volcano, located in the eastern part of Kamchatka. It is considered the highest among all volcanoes that act on the Eurasia continent. The approximate age of the giant is about 7 thousand years, the height of the hill periodically changes due to geological activity, and, according to the latest data, is 4835 meters.
15th place - Wilpata (4646 m)
The name of the peak was given by the Ossetian people. Wilpata is located in the Caucasus, in a southwestern direction from the Tseysky Range and is the most dominant among all the peaks of the Karaugomsky plateau. On the slopes of Wilpata, there are many climbing routes with difficulty from 2B to 5B.
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Avachinskaya Sopka (Avacha) is an active volcano in Kamchatka, in the southern part of the Eastern Range, north of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, in the interfluve of the Avacha and Nalychev rivers. It belongs to the volcanoes of the Somma-Vesuvius type.
The height is 2741 m, the top is cone-shaped. The cone is composed of basaltic and andesitic lavas, tuffs and slag. The diameter of the crater is 400 m, there are numerous fumaroles. As a result of the eruption that occurred in 1991, a massive lava plug formed in the crater of the volcano. At the top of the volcano (together with the Kozelsky volcano) there are 10 glaciers on an area of 10.2 km².
The lower slopes of the volcano are covered with forests of dwarf pine and stone birch, in the upper part - glaciers and snow. The glacier on the northern slope is named after the Far Eastern explorer Arsenyev.
At the foot of the volcano there is a volcanological station of the Institute of Volcanology of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
As a rule, the highest peaks of the Sikhote-Alin have a sharply defined contour and are covered with large stone placers in vast areas. The relief forms resemble badly destroyed circuses and mountain glaciation karts.
They are composed of sandy-shale deposits with numerous breakthroughs of intrusions, which led to the presence of deposits of gold, tin and polymetals. In tectonic depressions within the Sikhote-Alin deposits of hard and brown coal.
In the foothills, basalt plateaus are common, of which the largest plateau in terms of area is west of Sovetskaya Gavan. Plateau areas are also found on the main watershed. The largest is the Zevinsky plateau, on the watershed of the upper reaches of the Bikin and the rivers flowing into the Tatar Strait. In the south and east, the Sikhote-Alin is represented by steeply sloping mid-mountain ranges, in the west by numerous longitudinal valleys and basins, and at altitudes of more than 900 m - bald mountains. In general, the Sikhote-Alin has an asymmetric transverse profile. The western macroslope is more gentle than the eastern one. Accordingly, the rivers flowing to the west are longer. This feature is reflected in the very name of the ridge. Translated from the Manchu language - the ridge of large western rivers.
№ Mountain Altitude (m)
1 Tordoki-Yani 2090 Khabarovsk Territory, Nanai district
2 Ko 2003 Khabarovsk Territory, district named after Lazo
3 Yako-Yani 1955 Khabarovsk Territory
4 Anik 1933 Primorsky Territory, Pozharsky District
5 Durhe 1903 Khabarovsk Territory, district named after. Lazo
6 Cloudy 1855 Primorsky Krai, Chuguevsky district
7 Bolotnaya 1814 Primorsky Territory, Pozharsky District
8 Sputnik 1805 Khabarovsk Territory, district im. Lazo
9 Acute 1788 Primorsky Territory, Terneisky District
10 Arseniev 1757 Primorsky Territory, Pozharsky District
11 High 1745 Primorsky Krai,
12 Snezhnaya 1684 Primorsky Territory, Chuguevsky District
13 Alder 1668 Primorsky Territory, Partizansky District
14 Lysaya 1554 Primorsky Territory, Partizansky/Lazovsky districts
15 Taunga 1459 Khabarovsk Territory
16 Izyubrinaya 1433 Primorsky Territory
Along the main ridge and some spurs there are several dozens of granite bald mountains with a height of 1500 to 2000 m with eternal (perennial) snowfields on the northern slopes, with areas of mountain tundra and alpine vegetation. In the mountains, especially along the main ridge and on the spurs closest to it, extensive forests have been preserved, mostly dark coniferous, but now there are already large massifs of deciduous trees. In some places, above the blue of the mountain taiga, rise like islands, bare peaks with alpine landscapes and snowfields.
You can trace a whole chain of these peaks: Heavenly Teeth (2178), Bolshoy Kanym (1870), Bolshoi Taskyl (1448), Church (1450), Suitcase (1858), Cross (1648), Bobrovaya (1673), Pukh-taskyl (1818) ), Chelbak-taskyl, Bear char, Chest, Kugu-tu, Belaya, etc.
Most of the high bald peaks are concentrated in the central part of the mountain system, in the area between 88°-89° east longitude and 55°-53° north latitude. This highest part of the Kuznetsk Alatau is known locally as Belogorye.
To the north of Big Taskyl the mountains go down. Along the main ridge, they already have a height of less than 1000 meters. In the northern part, the mountain system takes on a fan-shaped appearance and turns into ridges of hills stretching to the Trans-Siberian Railway.
WHITE RIVER, Ural
The Urals is rich in minerals and minerals. In the bowels of the Ural Mountains there are iron and copper ores, chromium, nickel, cobalt, zinc, coal, oil, gold, precious stones. The Urals has long been the largest mining and metallurgical base of the country. The riches of the Ural nature also include forest resources. The southern, subpolar and middle Urals provide the possibility of farming.
Along the southern and southeastern for hundreds of kilometers stretches the high ridge Khamar-daban - one of the most picturesque mountainous regions of Eastern Siberia. The peaks of Khamar-daban, which are "bald mountains" with stone placers, rise above the belt of woody vegetation, reaching more than 2000 m abs. high
The most elevated is the eastern part of Khamar-daban, where some peaks are up to 2300 m above sea level. m. The northern slopes of the ridge narrow steeply towards Baikal, the eastern slopes more gently approach the river valley. Selenga. Going into Lake Baikal, the spurs of Khamar-daban in many places form the most picturesque rocky capes.
Very picturesque mountains, many mountain lakes, waterfalls, caves and mountain rivers! Actively visited by tourists!
It stretches in a latitudinal direction in a strip, gradually narrowing from 200 to 80 km, from the upper reaches of the Abakan River to the junction with the ridges of the Eastern Sayan in the upper reaches of the Kazyr, Uda and Kizhi-Khem rivers. From the north, the Minusinsk basin adjoins the Western Sayan, and from the south - the Tuva basin.
The ridges of the Western Sayan are elongated mainly in the latitudinal direction.
The inner ridge is much lower than the Main one (up to 600 - 760 m above sea level). It stretches parallel to the Main and is separated from it by an inter-ridge depression of 10 - 25 km. In places, there are isolated low mountains and short ridges with flat tops, formed during the erosion of the Inner Ridge. These are the remnant mountains Mangup, Eski-Kermen, Tepe-Kermen and others - natural bastions on which fortress cities were built in the Middle Ages.
Above sea level is about 250 m, the maximum is 325 m. It lies to the north of the Inner and is separated from it by a depression 3 to 8 km wide. The outer ridge is most clearly expressed between Simferopol and Sevastopol. It gradually decreases to the north and imperceptibly passes into the Plain Crimea.
The Inner and Outer Ridges are not only lower than the Main Ridge, but are also distinguished by a flat, even surface, slightly inclined to the northwest. It is they who form the foothills of the Crimean mountains.
On the Kerch Peninsula, two regions are distinguished, delimited by the low Parpach Ridge. In the southwest it is an undulating plain with a variety of isolated uplands, in the northeast it is a hilly-ridged area.
The soils of Crimea are very diverse. Each physical-geographical region has its own species. Solonetzic and solonetzic soils predominate in the Sivash region; to the south, in the flat part of the peninsula, there are chestnut and so-called southern chernozems (heavy loamy and clayey with underlying loess-like rocks); mountain-meadow and mountain chernozems have formed on the yayla; on the slopes of the Main Ridge, covered with forests, brown mountain-forest soils are common. special brown soils similar to subtropical red soils.
(Ukrainian: Krimski Gory, Crimean Tatar: Qırım dağları, Kyrym dağlary), in the past also the Tauride Mountains - a mountain system that occupies the southern and southeastern part of the Crimean peninsula.
The mountain system is formed by three mountain ranges, stretching from Cape Aya in the vicinity of Balaklava in the west to Cape St. Elijah near Feodosia in the east. The Crimean Mountains are about 160 km long and about 50 km wide. The outer ridge is a series of cuestas, gradually rising to a height of about 350 m. The inner ridge reaches a height of 750 m.
All researchers of the Crimea note that they are directed from the northeast to the southwest, separated by two longitudinal valleys. All three ridges have the same character of the slopes: from the north they are gentle, and from the south they are steep. If we take into account the age of the rocks, then the beginning of the first ridge should be considered Cape Fiolent, since the same rocks that make up the first ridge predominate here. The outer ridge stretches to the city of Stary Krym, the height of the ridge ranges from 149 m to 350 m. The inner ridge originates near Sevastopol (Sapun Gora) and also ends near the city of Stary Krym, the height is from 490 m to 750 m. The main ridge is in the west begins near Balaklava and ends with Mount Agarmysh, near the town of Stary Krym. The top surface of the main ridge is a wavy plateau and is called yayla.
(pinyin: Tiānshān shānmài, Kirg. Ala-Too, Kaz. Aspan-Tau, Tanir shyny, Tanir tau, Uzbek Tyan Shan, Mong. Tenger-uul) is a mountain system located in Central Asia on the territory of four countries: Kyrgyzstan, China (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region), Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.The name Tien Shan in Chinese means "heavenly mountains". According to E. M. Murzaev, this name is a tracing paper from the Turkic Tengritag, formed from the words: Tengri (Sky, God, divine) and tag (mountain).
The Tien Shan system includes the following orographic regions:
Northern Tien Shan: Ketmen, Zailiysky Alatau, Kungei-Alatau and Kirgizsky ridges;
Eastern Tien Shan: Borohoro, Iren-Khabyrga, Bogdo-Ula, Karlyktag Halyktau, Sarmin-Ula, Kuruktag ridges
Western Tien Shan: Karatau, Talas Alatau, Chatkal, Pskem and Ugam ranges;
Southwestern Tien Shan: ridges framing the Fergana Valley and including the southwestern slope of the Fergana Range;
Inner Tien Shan: from the north it is bounded by the Kirghiz ridge and the Issyk-Kul basin, from the south by the Kokshaltau ridge, from the west by the Ferghana ridge, from the east by the Akshiyrak mountain range.
The Tien Shan Mountains are considered one of the highest in the world, among them there are more than thirty peaks over 6000 meters high. The highest point of the mountain system is Pobeda Peak (Tomur, 7439 m), located on the border of Kyrgyzstan and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China; the next in height is the Khan-Tengri peak (6995 m) on the border of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
Three mountain ranges diverge from the Central Tien Shan to the west, separated by intermountain basins (Issyk-Kul with Lake Issyk-Kul, Naryn, At-Bashyn, etc.) and connected in the west by the Ferghana Range.
In the Eastern Tien Shan there are two parallel mountain ranges (height 4-5 thousand meters), separated by depressions (height 2-3 thousand meters). Highly elevated (3-4 thousand m) leveled surfaces - syrts are characteristic. The total area of glaciers is 7.3 thousand km², the largest is South Inylchek. Rapids rivers - Naryn, Chu, Ili, etc. Mountain steppes and semi-deserts dominate: meadow-steppes and forests (mainly coniferous) on the northern slopes, higher subalpine and alpine meadows, so-called cold deserts on syrts.
From west to east is 2500 km. Mountain system in Wed. and Center. Asia. Length from 3. to E. 2500 km. Alpine folding, the remains of ancient leveled surfaces are preserved at an altitude of 3000-4000 m in the form of syrts. Modern tectonic activity is high, earthquakes are frequent. The mountain ranges are composed of igneous rocks, and the basins are composed of sedimentary rocks. Deposits of mercury, antimony, lead, cadmium, zinc, silver, in the basins - oil.
The relief is predominantly alpine, with glacial forms, scree, above 3200 m permafrost is common. There are flat intermountain basins (Fergana, Issyk-Kul, Naryn). The climate is continental, temperate. Snowfields and glaciers. The rivers belong to the basins of internal flow (Naryn, Ili, Chu, Tarim, etc.), lakes. Issyk-Kul, Song-Kel, Chatyr-Kel.
The first European explorer of the Tien Shan in 1856 was Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov, who received the title "Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky" for his work.
PIK PUTIN
Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev signed an order to name one of the peaks of the Tien Shan named after Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
"The height of this peak reaches 4,500 meters above sea level. It is located in the Ak-Suu river basin, on the territory of the Chui region," the office of the head of the Kyrgyz government said.
One of the peaks of the Tien Shan in the Issyk-Kul region of Kyrgyzstan bears the name of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin.
7439 m) rises on the state border of the USSR and China. Nearby on the territory of the USSR rises Khan-Tengri peak (6995 m). This border high-mountain region with the highest ridges and largest glaciers, located to the east of the glaciated Akshiyrak massif, is now called by some researchers the Central Tien Shan, meaning its central position in the system of the entire Tien Shan (including the eastern, Chinese part). The space located to the west of this region is a high internal highlands, bordered on all sides by barriers of high mountain ranges (Kyrgyz and Terskey-Ala-Too from the north, Fergana from the southwest, Kakshaal-Too from the southeast), which formerly called the Central Tien Shan, received the apt name of the Inner Tien Shan. In addition, the Northern Tien Shan is distinguished, which includes the Ketmen, Kungei-Ala-Too, Kirghiz, Zailiysky Alatau, Chu-Ili mountains, and the Western Tien Shan, which includes the Talas Alatau and the ridges extending from it: Ugamsky, Pskemsky , Chatkal with Kuraminsky, Karatau.
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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
M.F. Velichko. "Across the Western Sayan". M .: "Physical culture and sport", 1972.
Geography of the USSR
Nature of Baikal
Ural mountains
Mountains of Russia
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Wikipedia site
http://www.photosight.ru/
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Mountains occupy about 24% of all land. Most mountains in Asia - 64%, least of all in Africa - 3%. 10% of the world's population lives in mountains. And it is in the mountains that most of the rivers on our planet originate.
Characteristics of the mountains
By geographical location, mountains are combined into various communities, which should be distinguished.
. mountain belts- the largest formations, often stretching across several continents. For example, the Alpine-Himalayan belt runs through Europe and Asia, or the Andean-Cordillera, stretching through North and South America.
. mountain system- groups of mountains and ranges, similar in structure and age. For example, the Ural Mountains.
. mountain ranges- a group of mountains, elongated in a line (Sangre de Cristo in the USA).
. mountain groups- also a group of mountains, but not elongated in a line, but simply located nearby. For example, the Ber-Po Mountains in Montana.
. Solitary mountains- not related to others, often of volcanic origin (Table Mountain in South Africa).
Natural areas of mountains
Natural areas in the mountains are arranged in layers and change depending on the height. At the foot, there is most often a zone of meadows (in the highlands) and forests (in the middle and low mountains). The higher, the more severe the climate becomes.
The change of belts is influenced by climate, height, topography of mountains and their geographical position. For example, continental mountains do not have a belt of forests. From the foot to the top, natural areas change from deserts to grasslands.
Mountain views
There are several classifications of mountains according to various criteria: by structure, shape, origin, age, geographical location. Consider the most basic types:
1. By age distinguish old and young mountains.
old called mountain systems, whose age is hundreds of millions of years. The internal processes in them have subsided, and the external ones (wind, water) continue to destroy, gradually comparing them with the plains. The old mountains include the Ural, Scandinavian, Khibiny (on the Kola Peninsula).
2. Height distinguish between low, medium and high mountains.
Low mountains (up to 800 m) - with rounded or flat tops and gentle slopes. There are many rivers in these mountains. Examples: Northern Urals, Khibiny, spurs of the Tien Shan.
Medium mountains (800-3000 m). They are characterized by a change in landscape depending on the height. These are the Polar Urals, the Appalachians, the mountains of the Far East.
High mountains (over 3000 m). Basically, these are young mountains with steep slopes and sharp peaks. Natural areas change from forests to icy deserts. Examples: Pamir, Caucasus, Andes, Himalayas, Alps, Rocky Mountains.
3. By origin they distinguish volcanic (Fujiyama), tectonic (Altai Mountains) and denudation, or erosional (Vilyuysky, Ilimsky).
4. According to the shape of the top mountains are peak-shaped (Communism Peak, Kazbek), plateau-shaped and canteen (Amby in Ethiopia or Monument Valley in the USA), domed (Ayu-Dag, Mashuk).
Climate in the mountains
The mountain climate has a number of characteristic features that appear with height.
Decrease in temperature - the higher, the colder. It is no coincidence that the peaks of the highest mountains are covered with glaciers.
The atmospheric pressure drops. For example, at the top of Everest, the pressure is two times lower than at sea level. That is why water in the mountains boils faster - at 86-90ºC.
The intensity of solar radiation increases. In the mountains, sunlight contains more ultraviolet light.
The amount of precipitation is increasing.
High mountain ranges delay precipitation and affect the movement of cyclones. Therefore, the climate on different slopes of the same mountain may differ. On the windward side there is a lot of moisture, sun, on the leeward side it is always dry and cool. A striking example is the Alps, where subtropics are represented on one side of the slopes, and a temperate climate dominates on the other.
The highest mountains in the world
(Click on the picture to enlarge the scheme in full size)
There are seven highest peaks in the world, which all climbers dream of conquering. Those who succeeded become honorary members of the "Seven Peaks Club". These are mountains such as:
. Chomolungma, or Everest (8848 m). Located on the border of Nepal and Tibet. Belongs to the Himalayas. It has the shape of a trihedral pyramid. The first conquest of the mountain took place in 1953.
. aconcagua(6962 m). It is the highest mountain in the southern hemisphere, located in Argentina. Belongs to the Andes mountain system. The first ascent took place in 1897.
. McKinley- the highest peak in North America (6168 m). Located in Alaska. First conquered in 1913. It was considered the highest point in Russia until Alaska was sold to America.
. kilimanjaro- the highest mark in Africa (5891.8 m). Located in Tanzania. First conquered in 1889. This is the only mountain where all types of the Earth's belts are represented.
. Elbrus- the highest peak in Europe and Russia (5642 m). Located in the Caucasus. The first ascent took place in 1829.
. Vinson Massif- the highest mountain of Antarctica (4897 m). It is part of the Ellsworth Mountains. First conquered in 1966.
. Mont Blanc- the highest point in Europe (many attribute Elbrus to Asia). Height - 4810 m. Located on the border of France and Italy, belongs to the mountain system of the Alps. The first ascent in 1786, and a century later, in 1886, Theodore Roosevelt conquered the summit of Mont Blanc.
. Pyramid of Carstens- the highest mountain in Australia and Oceania (4884 m). Located on the island of New Guinea. The first conquest was in 1962.
On the vast territory of the Russian Federation, there are more than 1000 mountain peaks, and according to some sources, the total number exceeds 2000. Few people can now confirm specific numbers, but you should remember the most basic information: there are about 20 mountain systems in Russia. They form the backbone the most majestic, most famous and highest mountains in Russia.
To my shame, I have conquered only one mountain peak, BUT the highest point in Russia. With it, I will begin my story about the highest mountains in Russia. But for a general idea, we will divide the most basic mountain systems in Russia into 6 parts: these are separate massifs of the Caucasus, the Urals and the Khibiny, as well as the vast mountain systems of Southern Siberia, North-Eastern Siberia and the Far East.
5 HIGHEST MOUNTAINS IN RUSSIA
1. Elbrus - height 5621 meters.
The highest mountain peak in Russia and the highest point in Europe, located on the border of Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria to the north of the Greater Caucasus Range. The name of the peak is translated in different ways: from Iranian - as "high mountain", from Georgian - as "ice", from Karachay-Circassian - as "eternal mountain", and from Kabardian - as "mountain of happiness". However, any of the names testifies to the greatness and beauty of Elbrus.
This greatest peak has acquired interesting secrets and legends. And we will continue.
2. Dykhtau - height 5204 meters.
Its second name is "Jagged Mountain". It is located on the border of Georgia and modern Kabardino-Balkaria, which is part of Russia. This mountain is very dangerous, because it has almost steep slopes, on which rockfalls and snow avalanches occur all the time. For mountaineering, this mountain is a difficult and dangerous object, but this fact stops few adrenaline lovers. In winter, temperatures are very low here. This peak is considered the least visited precisely because of the dangers of the relief.
3. Mount Koshtantau height 5152 meters.
One of the most inaccessible and most beautiful peaks of the Caucasus. Its northern slopes are decorated with marble glaciers. For some, the conquest of Koshtantau becomes the last test in life. So, in 1888, climbers from England Fox and Donkin and two Swiss guides accompanying them died while climbing Koshtantau.
As you may have guessed, the highest mountain peaks are concentrated in the Caucasus. Well, we continue our story.
4. Pushkin Peak - height 5033 meters.
He received his name in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of Pushkin, in 1938. It is located in the central part of the Main Caucasian Range in Kabardino-Balkaria and is part of the Dykhtau mountain range between Borovikov Peak and Eastern Dykhtau. Climbers often jokingly call Pushkin Peak the highest gendarme on the ridge: the beautiful peak dominates all the other hills of the ridge.
5. Dzhangitau - height 5085 meters.
Another of the highest mountains of the Russian Federation is Dzhangitau, which is part of the huge massif of the 12-kilometer Bezengi Wall, located on the territory of Kabardino-Balkaria. The name of the peak is translated from Karachay-Balkar as "new mountain". It is for the conquest of this peak that climbers are awarded the badge of honor "Snow Leopard of Russia", which is a good incentive for many travelers and active tourists. The first climber to receive this title is Alexei Bukinich, a citizen of Sochi.
Only the most desperate get there. The highest mountain in Russia is Elbrus. It is also considered the highest point in Russia - 5642 meters. Plus, Elbrus is the highest point in Europe.
The Elbrus volcano is located in the Caucasus, on the border of the Karachay-Cherkess and Kabardino-Balkarian republics. The locals call this mountain “Mingi Tau” or “Infinite Mountain of Wisdom and Consciousness”. Scientists believe that Elbrus was once a volcano, but died out thousands of years ago, and then completely covered with glaciers. The peaks are reminded of the distant past only by the emission of sulfuric acid and chloride gases in some areas on the eastern slopes of Elbrus, as well as mineral springs, including thermal ones.
The summit was first conquered back in 1829. Then it was a group of daredevils under the chairmanship of General G. A. Emanuel. Nowadays, it has become quite fashionable to conquer the highest mountain in Russia. More than one route has been laid along the slopes of the summit. Among other things, Elbrus is one of the most popular ski resorts in Russia.
The main composition of the rocks of Elbrus is granites, gneisses, diabases of volcanic origin and tuffs. The mountain is located on the Side Ridge, and it connects with the main Caucasian Ridge by a ridge called Khotutau.
The height of Elbrus from the surface of the globe is equal to 3.5 thousand meters. It is mainly covered with glaciers, of which there are only 77 pieces, their area is 144.5 square kilometers. There are moraines on the surface free from glaciers. And most of the slopes are gentle, however, from a height of 4 thousand meters, the average steepness becomes equal to 35 degrees. On the northern and western slopes there are rocky steep areas up to 700 meters high. All glaciers are cut by cracks, and in the lower part of the mountain they break off with icefalls. The opposite slopes, eastern and southern, are more even. Surfaces below 3.5 thousand meters are made up of stone screes. They are quite often, even in summer, covered with melting snowflakes.
Natural and climatic factors that differ from sharply continental ones, as, for example, in the Himalayas or Tibet, can create a high level of hypoxia. Arctic conditions on glacial surfaces, such as mountain slopes and peaks, are accompanied by the need for a constant climb, therefore, they set a rather high strain of spiritual and physical forces, constantly pursuing dangers that require first-class mastery of technology in order to overcome them.
Mount Elbrus with two peak craters was formed about a million years ago. It is covered with snow and ice, which determines the weather and climate of a significant area. The unusual relief, scientists say, was not formed overnight. As it is also called, the Two-Headed Mountain, appeared as a result of complex and lengthy geological processes. First, after the eruptions, the peak appeared in the West, and after that in the East, it began to grow in place of the side crater of the peak.
Elbrus is a fairly modern volcano, which is in a state of relative rest. During the last millennium there have been no eruptions, however, experts say, this is not a sign that Elbrus has completed its volcanic activity. Apparently, the roof of the magma chamber is located at a depth of 6-7 kilometers from the surface. According to geological data, the conclusion suggests itself that the volcano is still, as they say, on the ascending branch of development.
It is worth noting that the peaks of the mountain are two independent volcanoes that have grown on a fairly ancient volcanic base. The eastern cone, which is exactly 5621 meters in height, is quite "young" and it has retained the correct volcanic shape with a pronounced thicket-crater. Well, the western cone, which is 5642 meters, is much older and has already been greatly changed, almost a third of its upper part has been destroyed by a vertical fault. It is worth noting that the distance between the peaks is one and a half kilometers.
The huge snow cap of Mount Elbrus forms dozens of glaciers. And the streams erupting from them merge and give rise to three rivers of the region. These are Kuban, Malka and Baksan.
The glory of Mount Elbrus, as the highest and most beautiful mountain in the Caucasus, dates back to time immemorial. BC Herodotus wrote about the summit. And the people of the Middle East and the Caucasus have many songs and legends about Elbrus. Inspired lines were dedicated to him not only by many Caucasian poets, but by Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin and Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov.
In the chronicles of history, Elbrus was first mentioned by a Persian scholar named Sherif-ad-Dni in his "Book of Victories", when the famous Asian commander Tamerlane climbed the mountain in order to pray. This was during his Transcaucasian military campaigns. However, quite numerous references to Elbrus also refer to the era of antiquity.
For example, the ancient hero Prometheus was chained to one of the rocks of the mountain because he gave fire to people. And the famous Argonauts, according to Homer, went to the Caucasus, to Elbrus, for the Golden Fleece.
Due to its symbolic significance, this mountain became the arena for many bloody battles during the Great Patriotic War. So, in August 1942, the German mountain division called "Edelweiss" set banners with Teutonic symbols on the western peak of Elbrus. Six months later, as a result of the retreat of German troops to the West, the Edelweiss division found itself in a locked trap on the top of a mountain, where it was destroyed by Soviet mountain rifle divisions. The banners were dropped, and Soviet flags were installed in their place.
Elbrus. Indescribable beauty
For the first time, a person climbed to the top of the mountain in 1829. The pioneer was a Kabardian named Kilar Khashirov, who was the guide of the expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Well, the first person who conquered two peaks at once was the Balkar hunter and shepherd Ahiya Sottaev. A man has visited the great mountain nine times in his long life. For the first time he climbed it at the age of forty-odd years, but the last ascent dates back to 1909, then the hunter was one hundred and twenty-one years old. Since then, many people have visited Elbrus, the mountain has become incredibly popular, mass sports climbs are constantly arranged on it.
But don't get your hopes up. The highest mountain in Russia is not so easy. Every year Elbrus takes about ten human lives.
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