Mountain ranges and the highest mountains on Earth

In short: Mountain ranges usually arise when Earth plates collide and the crust is folded up. The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas at about 8,849 metres above sea level.

In more detail: The Himalayas are still growing by a few millimetres a year because India presses against Asia (plattentektonik).

In detail

• Eight-thousanders: There are 14 mountains over 8,000 metres, all in the Himalayas and Karakoram.
• Alps: The highest peak is Mont Blanc (4,806 m). In Germany the Zugspitze at 2,962 metres is the highest summit.
• Andes: The longest mountain range in the world, about 7,000 km along South America’s west coast.
• Fold mountains and volcanoes: Some mountains are volcanoes, like Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) in Africa (erdbeben-und-vulkane).
• Altitude zones: Climate and vegetation change with height (klimazonen-der-erde).
• Safety: Altitude strains the body (hoehenkrankheit-und-akklimatisierung).