10 interesting facts about mountains

The highest mountains: Ukraine, Europe, Africa and the Solar System. Which mountain is the most dangerous, and which is the most popular? And is Everest really the largest mountain on Earth?

For International Mountain Day, DAY TODAY has prepared for you a selection of interesting facts about mountains.

The longest mountain system

The longest mountain system is not terrestrial mountains, but Mid-Atlantic Ridge, passing under the waters of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Its length is 18 thousand kilometers. The longest mountain range on earth is the mountains Andes in South America. The length of the mountain range reaches 9000 km.

The highest unconquered peak

The highest unconquered peak in the world is Ganghar Piensum, located on the border of Bhutan and Tibet. Its height above sea level reaches 7,570 m. To conquer the peak, four expeditions were carried out in 1985 and 1986 by the British, who noted that the height of the peak is 7,550 m. In 1994, Bhutan banned climbing mountains higher than 6,000 m, and in 2003 – the entire mountaineering in the country.

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Dangerous mountain

In the Himalayas there is a dangerous eight-thousander mountain Annapurna I. According to statistics, until 2012 every fourth climber died, who tried to conquer her. The height of the peak is 8091 m, the slopes are steep and almost vertical. In 1950, Annapurna was conquered for the first time by French climbers Maurice Erzog and Louis Lachenal.

The first conquest of Everest

The first documented climb to the highest mountain in the world – Everest – happened in 1953 by a New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgey, participants of the ninth British expedition to Jomolungma. Before that, attempts to conquer the summit began as early as 1921, but the climbers did not succeed.

The highest volcano

The highest volcano in the world is Ojos del Salado on the border of Chile and Argentina, which has a height of 6893 m. Its double peak decorates the landscape of the Atacama desert. Unusually, in this arid climate, there is a lake at the top of the crater, the diameter of which is about 100 m.

The highest mountain in Europe

The highest mountain in Europe is Elbrus volcano in the Caucasus. Its height is 5642 m above sea level. Scientific studies of the last ten years have made it possible to confidently assign Elbrus to the category of potentially active volcanoes, although until now it was considered permanently extinct. Here is the highest hotel in the world (4100 m), founded in 1909.

The highest mountain in Africa

The highest point of Africa is Kilimanjaro volcano in Tanzania, which reaches 5895 m. The top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round, which looks quite unusual against the background of the African terrain. The volcano is in the middle of a flat savanna, so it is clearly visible from space. The total area of ​​the mountain is almost 390 thousand hectares.

The highest mountain in the solar system

In the list of TOP-10 highest mountains of the Solar System, half (5 pieces) belong to Mars. The highest point of Mars is Mount Olympus – has almost 30 kilometers in height.

What is actually the largest mountain on Earth?

The largest mountain on Earth is actually located at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean – it is an underwater volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii. From the foot to the top, the height is 10,203 m, although the peak rises only 4,205 m above sea level. The famous Mauna Kea International Observatory with modern telescopes, founded in 1967, is located on the peak of the mountain.

The most popular mountain for climbing

In the USA there is a mountain that is most often climbed by climbers from all over the world. This is the peak of Monadnock with a height of 965 m. Future conquerors of huge mountain peaks train here.

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