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An ocean is a large area of salt water between continents. Oceans are very big and they join smaller seas together. Together, the oceans are like one "ocean", because all the "oceans" are joined. Oceans (or marine biomes) cover 72% of our planet. The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean. It covers 1/3 (one third) of the Earth's surface. Big and small fish of different types are found in oceans. Crabs, starfish, sharks, whales etc are found in oceans.

The smallest ocean is the Arctic Ocean. Different water movements separate the Southern Ocean from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The Southern ocean is also called the Antarctic Ocean, because it covers the area around Antarctica. Older maps may not use the names Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean.

The deepest ocean is the Pacific ocean. The deepest point is the Mariana Trench, being about 11,000 metres (36,200 feet) deep. The deep ocean is characterized by cold temperatures, high pressure, and complete darkness. Some very unusual organisms live in this part of the ocean. They do not require energy from the sun to survive, because they use chemicals from deep inside the Earth (see hydrothermal vent).

Although many people believe that the oceans are blue because the water reflects the blue sky, this is actually not true. Water has a very slight blue color that can only be seen when there is a lot of water. However, the main cause of the blue or blue/green color of the oceans is that water absorbs the red part of the incoming light, and reflects the green and blue part of the light. We then see the reflected light as the color of water.

Plants and animals

Organisms that live in oceans can live in salt water. They are affected by sunlight, temperature, water pressure, and water movement. Different ocean organisms live near the surface, in shallow waters, and in deep waters. Small plant organisms that live near the surface and use sunlight to produce food are called phytoplankton. Almost all animals in the ocean depend directly or indirectly on these plants. In shallow water, you may find lobsters and crabs. In deeper water, marine animals of many different shapes and sizes swim through the ocean. These include many types of fish, such as tuna, swordfish and marine mammals like dolphins and whales. The skies above the open ocean are home to large sea birds, such as the albatross.

As it is thought that life evolved in the ocean, the diversity of life is immense, including:

Bacteria : ubiquitous single-celled prokaryotes found throughout the world

Archaea : prokaryotes distinct from bacteria, that inhabit many environments of the ocean, as well as many extreme environments

Algae : algae is a "catch-all" term to include many photosynthetic, single-celled eukaryotes, such as green algae, diatoms, and dinoflagellates, but also multicellular algae, such as some red algae (including organisms like Pyropia, which is the source of the edible nori seaweed), and brown algae (including organisms like kelp).

Plants : including sea grasses, or mangroves

Fungi : many marine fungi with diverse roles are found in oceanic environments

Animals : most animal phyla have species that inhabit the ocean, including many that are only found in marine environments such as sponges, Cnidaria (such as corals and jellyfish), comb jellies, Brachiopods, and Echinoderms (such as sea urchins and sea stars). Many other familiar animal groups primarily live in the ocean, including cephalopods (includes octopus and squid), crustaceans (includes lobsters, crabs, and shrimp), fish, sharks, cetaceans (includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises).

In addition, many land animals have adapted to living a major part of their life on the oceans. For instance, seabirds are a diverse group of birds that have adapted to a life mainly on the oceans. They feed on marine animals and spend most of their lifetime on water, many only going on land for breeding. Other birds that have adapted to oceans as their living space are penguins, seagulls and pelicans. Seven species of turtles, the sea turtles, also spend most of their time in the oceans.

Harvesting the ocean

Nations like Russia and Japan have lots of huge ships that go to some of the world's best fishing areas for many months. These large ships have libraries, hospitals, schools, repair (fixing) shops and other things that are needed for fishermen and their families.

Many people look at the sea as a source of food, minerals and energy.

According to the FishBase.org website, there are 33,200 known species of fish, and many of them live in the oceans. Many of these fish are a fine source of protein, so many people eat them.

Fishing industries are very important because they make jobs and give food to millions of people. Today, usually through ocean fishing, the ocean supplies about 2% of the calories needed by people.

Tuna, anchovies, and herring are harvested close to the surface of the ocean. Pollock, flounder and cod are caught near the ocean floor. More than a million tons of herring are caught every year in the North Pacific and North Atlantic, and almost eight fish out of ten fish are eaten as food for humans. The other fish are used as fertilizer, glue, and pet and other animal food.

Ocean temperatures

There are many different ocean temperatures in the open ocean, both vertically (from top to bottom) and horizontally. Icebergs are made over very cold waters at either pole, while waters at the equator are pretty warm. Water cools and warms more slowly than land does, so land influenced by the ocean has later and milder seasons than land that is farther away from the ocean.

The surface part of the ocean, also called the mixed layer, is not much colder even when we go deeper down. Below this surface zone is a layer of sudden temperature difference, called a thermocline. This is a middle layer hat is from the surface zone down to about 2,600 feet (800 m). Thermoclines may happen only at seasons or permanently, and may change depending on where and how deep it is. As evaporation happens, it begins cooling, and if the water evaporates very quickly, the water becomes saltier. The salty, cold water is denser, so it sinks. This is why warm and cold waters do not easily mix. Most animals and plants live in the warm upper layer. Below the thermocline, temperature in the deep zone is so cold it is just above freezing - between 32 - 37.4 F (0 - 3 C).

Extraterrestrial oceans

Although Earth is the only known planet with large stable bodies of liquid water on its surface and the only one in the Solar System, other celestial bodies are thought to have large oceans.

The gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, are thought to lack surfaces and instead have a stratum of liquid hydrogen; however their planetary geology is not well understood. The possibility of the ice giants Uranus and Neptune having hot, highly compressed, supercritical water under their thick atmospheres has been hypothesised.

Although their composition is still not fully understood, a 2006 study by Wiktorowicz and Ingersall ruled out the possibility of such a water "ocean" existing on Neptune, though some studies have suggested that exotic oceans of liquid diamond are possible.

The Mars ocean hypothesis suggests that nearly a third of the surface of Mars was once covered by water, though the water on Mars is no longer oceanic (much of it residing in the ice caps). The possibility continues to be studied along with reasons for their apparent disappearance. Astronomers think that Venus had liquid water and perhaps oceans in its very early history. If they existed, all later vanished via resurfacing.

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The Atlantic, one component of the system, makes up 23% of the "global ocean".

Ocean chlorophyll concentration is a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. In this map, blue colors represent lower chlorophyll and reds represent higher chlorophyll. Satellite-measured chlorophyll is estimated based on ocean color by how green the color of the water appears from space.

Map of the Gulf Stream, a major ocean current that transports heat from the equator to northern latitudes and moderates the climate of Europe.

In Spanish: Océano para niños

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A river is a stream of water that flows through a channel (or passage) in the surface of the ground. The passage where the river flows is called the river bed and the earth on each side is called a river bank.

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Canals are human-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:

1. Aqueduct (or water conveyance) canals that are used for the conveyance and delivery of fresh water, for human consumption, agriculture, etc.

2. Waterway canals that are navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats loaded with goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Included here are inter-ocean canals such as the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal.

Other canals are used for irrigation or hydropower.

Lists of canals

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Canals are human-made channels for water. There are two types of canal: Aqueduct (or water conveyance) canals that are used for the conveyance and delivery of fresh water, for human consumption, agriculture, etc. Waterway canals that are navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats loaded with goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.

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Fun Lake Facts for Kids - Interesting Information about Lakes

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Read about the Great Lakes of North America, how lakes are formed, how deep lakes can get, different types of lakes, where the highest lake in the world is located, and much more.

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Find information about other landforms here.

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Click the thumbnail of the plain landforms pictures below. You will not leave this page. The picture will grow.

A plain has 3 main characteristics

1. Land

2. Broad, flat, or gently rolling areas

3. Low in elevation

Example of plains landforms:

The Great Plains of the central United States of America
Western Plains of Australia

What is a Plain?

A plain is a landmass that is flat or gently rolling and covers many miles. There are also different types of plains such as prairies, grasslands and steppes.

How are Plains Formed?

There are a few ways that plains were and are formed. The first plains were created from lava flowing on Earth. Lava can burn things and make things that were almost flat, flatter. Erosion and deposits can also create plains.

Famous Plains

There are many famous plains are the world. Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up on the Great Northern Plains of the United States. The TV show, Little House on the Prairie, helped make these prairies known. Another famous plains area is the Western Plains of Australia

Plains Definition

A plain landform is land that is relatively flat and does not change much in elevation within a common area.

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Click the thumbnail of the plain landforms pictures below. You will not leave this page. The picture will grow. Land Broad, flat, or gently rolling areas Low in elevation Example of plains landforms: The Great Plains of the central United States of America Western Plains of Australia A plain is a landmass that is flat or gently rolling and covers many miles.

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In geology and physical geography, a plateau ( or plural plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a , is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain, that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides have deep hills. Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers. Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment as intermontane, piedmont, or continental. A few plateaus may have a small flat top while others have wide ones.

Plateaus can be formed by a number of processes, including upwelling of volcanic magma, extrusion of lava, and erosion by water and glaciers.

Volcanic plateaus are produced by volcanic activity. The Columbia Plateau in the north-western United States is an example. They may be formed by upwelling of volcanic magma or extrusion of lava.

The underlining mechanism in forming plateaus from upwelling starts when magma rises from the mantle, causing the ground to swell upward. In this way, large, flat areas of rock are uplifted to form a plateau. For plateaus formed by extrusion, the rock is built up from lava spreading outward from cracks and weak areas in the crust.

Plateaus can also be formed by the erosional processes of glaciers on mountain ranges, leaving them sitting between the mountain ranges. Water can also erode mountains and other landforms down into plateaus. Dissected plateaus are highly eroded plateaus cut by rivers and broken by deep narrow valleys. Computer modeling studies suggest that high plateaus may also be partially a result from the feedback between tectonic deformation and dry climatic conditions created at the lee side of growing orogens.

Classification

Plateaus are classified according to their surrounding environment.

Intermontane plateaus are the highest in the world, bordered by mountains. The Tibetan Plateau is one such plateau.

Lava or volcanic plateaus are the plateau that occur in areas of widespread volcanic eruptions. The magma that comes out through narrow cracks or fissures in the crust spread over large area and solidifies. These layers of lava sheets form lava or volcanic plateaus. The Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland, The Deccan Plateau in India and the Columbia Plateau in the United States are examples of lava plateaus.

Piedmont plateaus are bordered on one side by mountains and on the other by a plain or a sea. The Piedmont Plateau of the Eastern United States between the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlantic Coastal Plain is an example.

Continental plateaus are bordered on all sides by plains or oceans, forming away from the mountains. An example of a continental plateau is the Antarctic Plateau in East Antarctica.

Large plateaus

The largest and highest plateau in the world is the Tibetan Plateau, sometimes metaphorically described as the "Roof of the World", which is still being formed by the collisions of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The Tibetan plateau covers approximately 2,500,000 km ² (970,000 sq mi), at about 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level. The plateau is sufficiently high to reverse the Hadley cell convection cycles and to drive the monsoons of India towards the south.

Other major plateaus in Asia are: Najd in the Arabian Peninsula elevation 762 to 1,525 m (2,500 to 5,003 ft), Armenian Highlands (≈400,000 km ² (150,000 sq mi), elevation 900-2,100 metres (3,000-6,900 ft)), Iranian plateau (≈3,700,000 km ² (1,400,000 sq mi), elevation 300-1,500 metres (980-4,920 ft)), Anatolian Plateau, Mongolian Plateau (≈2,600,000 km ² (1,000,000 sq mi), elevation 1,000-1,500 metres (3,300-4,900 ft)), and the Deccan Plateau (≈1,900,000 km ² (730,000 sq mi), elevation 300-600 metres (980-1,970 ft)).

Another very large plateau is the icy Antarctic Plateau, which is sometimes referred to as the Polar Plateau or King Haakon VII Plateau, home to the geographic South Pole and the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, which covers most of East Antarctica where there are no known mountains but rather 3,000 m (9,800 ft) high of superficial ice and which spreads very slowly toward the surrounding coastline through enormous glaciers. The polar ice cap is so massive that the echolocation measurements of ice thickness have shown that large areas are below sea level. But, as the ice melts, the land beneath will rebound through isostasy and ultimately rise above sea level.

A large plateau in North America is the Colorado Plateau, which covers about 337,000 km ² (130,000 sq mi) in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.

In northern Arizona and southern Utah the Colorado Plateau is bisected by the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. How this came to be is that over 10 million years ago, a river was already there, though not necessarily on exactly the same course. Then, subterranean geological forces caused the land in that part of North America to gradually rise by about a centimeter per year for millions of years. An unusual balance occurred: the river that would become the Colorado River was able to erode into the crust of the Earth at a nearly equal rate to the uplift of the plateau. Now, millions of years later, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is at an elevation of about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) above sea level, and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is about 2,150 m (7,050 ft) above sea level. At its deepest, the Colorado River is about 1,830 m (6,000 ft) below the level of the North Rim.

Another high altitude plateau in North America is the Mexican Plateau. With an area of 601,882 km ² (232,388 sq mi) and average height of 1,825 m, it is the home of more than 70 million people.

A tepui, or tepuy, is a table-top mountain or mesa found in the Guiana Highlands of South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana.

Tepuis can be considered minute plateaus and tend to be found as isolated entities rather than in connected ranges, which makes them the host of a unique array of endemic plant and animal species. Some of the most outstanding tepuis are Neblina, Autana, Auyan and Mount Roraima. They are typically composed of sheer blocks of Precambrian quartz arenite sandstone that rise abruptly from the jungle, giving rise to spectacular natural scenery. Auyantepui is the source of Angel Falls, the world's tallest waterfall.

The Colombian capital city of Bogota sits on an Andean plateau known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense roughly the size of Switzerland. Averaging a height of 2,600 m (8,500 ft) above sea level, this northern Andean plateau is situated in the country's eastern range and is divided into three main flat regions: the Bogotá savanna, the valleys of Ubaté and Chiquinquirá, and the valleys of Duitama and Sogamoso.

The parallel Sierra of Andes delimit one of the world highest plateaux: the Altiplano, (Spanish for "high plain"), Andean Plateau or Bolivian Plateau. It lies in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet. The bulk of the Altiplano lies within Bolivian and Peruvian territory while its southern parts lie in Chile. The Altiplano plateau hosts several cities like Puno, Oruro, El Alto and La Paz the administrative seat of Bolivia. Northeastern Altiplano is more humid than the Southwestern, the latter of which hosts several salares, or salt flats, due to its aridity. At the Bolivia-Peru border lies Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America.

The highest African plateau is the Ethiopian Highlands which cover the central part of Ethiopia. It forms the largest continuous area of its altitude in the continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m (4,921 ft), while the summits reach heights of up to 4550 m (14,928 ft). It is sometimes called the Roof of Africa due to its height and large area.

Another example is the Highveld which is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above approximately 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions. It is home to some of largest South-African urban agglomerations.

In Egypt are the Giza Plateau and Galala Mountain, which was once called Gallayat Plateaus, raising 3,300 above sea level.

The Western Plateau, part of the Australian Shield, is an ancient craton covering much of the continent's southwest, an area of some 700,000 square kilometres. It has an average elevation of between 305 and 460 m.

The North Island Volcanic Plateau is an area of high land occupying much of the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, with volcanoes, lava plateaus, and crater lakes, the most notable of which is the country's largest lake, Lake Taupo. The plateau stretches approximately 100 km east to west and 130 km north to south. The majority of the plateau is more than 600 m above sea level.

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In geology and physical geography, a plateau ( or plural plateaus or plateaux), also called a high plain or a , is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain, that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides have deep hills.

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Mountains and hills are made when the layers of rock and soil (called "strata") get folded up. There are always valleys in hills and mountains, in between the highest parts which are the "peaks". If the mountains are very high, then people who want to travel to the other side of the mountains must go by the valleys.

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One of many great free stock photos from Pexels. This photo is about scenic, sky, volcano.

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Content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use Privacy Policy. Content of this web page is sourced from wikipedia ( http://simple.wikipedia.org). Some content of the original page may have been edited to make it more suitable for younger readers, unless otherwise noted.

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A mountain is a natural rise of the Earth's surface that usually has a "summit" (or "top"). It is usually steeper and taller than a hill. Mountains are often thought of as being a hill of over 600 metres (about 2,000 feet).

Definition of a mountain

The highest point of a mountain is called the peak. A mountain's summit is the highest area an individual can reach. A mountain climber will not reach the peak of the mountain but can reach the summit.

Britannica Student Encyclopedia says that the term "mountain' usually means a rise of over 2,000 feet (610 m)".

Polytechnic Student Encyclopedia says that the term "mountain' usually means a rise of over 1,000 feet (610 m)".

The standard height for a mountain in England is 600 metres. In England, it is important to have a legal height because people have the "Right to Roam" in mountains, but they do not have the same right to walk on someone-else's land.

There are three main types of mountains: volcanic, fold, and block. All three types are formed from plate tectonics: when portions of the Earth's crust move, crumple, and dive. Compressional forces, isostatic uplift and intrusion of igneous matter forces surface rock upward, creating a landform higher than the surrounding features. The height of the feature makes it either a hill or, if higher and steeper, a mountain. Major mountains tend to occur in long linear arcs, indicating tectonic plate boundaries and activity.

Volcanoes are formed when a plate is pushed below another plate, or at a mid-ocean ridge or hotspot. At a depth of around 100 km, melting occurs in rock above the slab (due to the addition of water), and forms magma that reaches the surface. When the magma reaches the surface, it often builds a volcanic mountain, such as a shield volcano or a stratovolcano. Examples of volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan and Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. The magma does not have to reach the surface in order to create a mountain: magma that solidifies below ground can still form dome mountains, such as Navajo Mountain in the US.

Fold mountains

Fold mountains occur when two plates collide: shortening occurs along thrust faults and the crust is overthickened. Since the less dense continental crust "floats" on the denser mantle rocks beneath, the weight of any crustal material forced upward to form hills, plateaus or mountains must be balanced by the buoyancy force of a much greater volume forced downward into the mantle. Thus the continental crust is normally much thicker under mountains, compared to lower lying areas. Rock can fold either symmetrically or asymmetrically. The upfolds are anticlines and the downfolds are synclines: in asymmetric folding there may also be recumbent and overturned folds. The Jura Mountains are an example of fold mountains.

Block mountains

Block mountains are caused by faults in the crust: a plane where rocks have moved past each other. When rocks on one side of a fault rise relative to the other, it can form a mountain. The uplifted blocks are block mountains or horsts. The intervening dropped blocks are termed graben: these can be small or form extensive rift valley systems. This form of landscape can be seen in East Africa, the Vosges, the Basin and Range Province of Western North America and the Rhine valley. These areas often occur when the regional stress is extensional and the crust is thinned.

During and following uplift, mountains are subjected to the agents of erosion (water, wind, ice, and gravity) which gradually wear the uplifted area down. Erosion causes the surface of mountains to be younger than the rocks that form the mountains themselves. Glacial processes produce characteristic landforms, such as pyramidal peaks, knife-edge arêtes, and bowl-shaped cirques that can contain lakes. Plateau mountains, such as the Catskills, are formed from the erosion of an uplifted plateau.

In earth science, erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transport it away to another location (not to be confused with weathering which involves no movement). The particulate breakdown of rock or soil into clastic sediment is referred to as physical or mechanical erosion; this contrasts with chemical erosion, where soil or rock material is removed from an area by its dissolving into a solvent (typically water), followed by the flow away of that solution. Eroded sediment or solutes may be transported just a few millimeters, or for thousands of kilometers.

Climate in the mountains becomes colder at high elevations, due to an interaction between radiation and convection. Sunlight in the visible spectrum hits the ground and heats it. The ground then heats the air at the surface. If radiation were the only way to transfer heat from the ground to space, the greenhouse effect of gases in the atmosphere would keep the ground at roughly 333 K (60 °C; 140 °F), and the temperature would decay exponentially with height.

However, when air is hot, it tends to expand, which lowers its density. Thus, hot air tends to rise and transfer heat upward. This is the process of convection. Convection comes to equilibrium when a parcel of air at a given altitude has the same density as its surroundings. Air is a poor conductor of heat, so a parcel of air will rise and fall without exchanging heat. This is known as an adiabatic process, which has a characteristic pressure-temperature dependence. As the pressure gets lower, the temperature decreases. The rate of decrease of temperature with elevation is known as the adiabatic lapse rate, which is approximately 9.8 °C per kilometer (or 5.4 °F per 1000 feet) of altitude.

Note that the presence of water in the atmosphere complicates the process of convection. Water vapor contains latent heat of vaporization. As air rises and cools, it eventually becomes saturated and cannot hold its quantity of water vapor. The water vapor condenses (forming clouds), and releases heat, which changes the lapse rate from the dry adiabatic lapse rate to the moist adiabatic lapse rate (5.5 °C per kilometer or 3 °F per 1000 feet) The actual lapse rate can vary by altitude and by location.

Therefore, moving up 100 meters on a mountain is roughly equivalent to moving 80 kilometers (45 miles or 0.75° of latitude) towards the nearest pole. This relationship is only approximate, however, since local factors such as proximity to oceans (such as the Arctic Ocean) can drastically modify the climate. As the altitude increases, the main form of precipitation becomes snow and the winds increase.

The effect of the climate on the ecology at an elevation can be largely captured through a combination of amount of precipitation, and the biotemperature, as described by Leslie Holdridge in 1947. Biotemperature is the mean temperature; all temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) are considered to be 0 °C. When the temperature is below 0 °C, plants are dormant, so the exact temperature is unimportant. The peaks of mountains with permanent snow can have a biotemperature below 1.5 °C (34.7 °F).

The colder climate on mountains affects the plants and animals residing on mountains. A particular set of plants and animals tend to be adapted to a relatively narrow range of climate. Thus, ecosystems tend to lie along elevation bands of roughly constant climate. This is called altitudinal zonation. In regions with dry climates, the tendency of mountains to have higher precipitation as well as lower temperatures also provides for varying conditions, which enhances zonation.

Some plants and animals found in altitudinal zones tend to become isolated since the conditions above and below a particular zone will be inhospitable and thus constrain their movements or dispersal. These isolated ecological systems are known as sky islands.

Altitudinal zones tend to follow a typical pattern. At the highest elevations, trees cannot grow, and whatever life may be present will be of the alpine type, resembling tundra. Just below the tree line, one may find subalpine forests of needleleaf trees, which can withstand cold, dry conditions. Below that, montane forests grow. In the temperate portions of the earth, those forests tend to be needleleaf trees, while in the tropics, they can be broadleaf trees growing in a rain forest.

The height of a mountain is measured as distance above sea level.

Tallest mountains

The highest mountain in the Solar System is the Olympus Mons (27 km) on Mars. The highest mountain in the world is Mount Everest (8,848m)which is in Nepal/ Tibet in Asia.

The "tallest" mountain in the world is Mauna Loa, in Hawaii. The "height" of a mountain is measured from sea level, but the "tallness" of a mountain is measured from its base, even if under water. The highest mountain in North America is Mount McKinley (6,194m) in Alaska in the USA. The highest in South America is Aconcagua (6,962m) in Argentina. For Africa, it is Kilimanjaro (5,963m) of Tanzania. In Europe, the highest mountain is in Russia called Elbrus (5,633m). Antarctica's highest mountain is Vinsin Massiff (5,140m). In Oceania, a mountain called Puncak Jaya (5,030m) is the highest there. This particular mountain is in Papua New Guinea / Indonesia.

Images for kids

The city of La Paz reaches up to 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) in elevation.

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A mountain is a natural rise of the Earth's surface that usually has a "summit" (or "top"). It is usually steeper and taller than a hill. Mountains are often thought of as being a hill of over 600 metres (about 2,000 feet). The highest point of a mountain is called the peak.

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