Continental Asia is the dream of climbers all over the world. Almost all of its territory consists of mountains and plateaus. The highest mountain systems of the planet are located here. The mountains of Asia excite the imagination and attract attention. I would like to talk about them in more detail.
Himalayas
Himalayas - powerful mountain range, which is the tallest on Earth. The history of the formation of this mountain system goes back tens of millions of years. There are seven-thousanders and eight-thousanders. Suffice it to say that in the whole world there are only 14 peaks above 8 thousand meters, and 10 of them are located in these places. And the highest place on the planet - Chomolungma, is also here. The second name of this grandiose peak is Everest. Its height is 8848 m.
Asia attracts many extreme lovers. It can be assumed that the conquest of Everest is for them the main goal of life. Its slopes have become the last refuge for many climbers who have not reached the summit of Asia and the entire planet. For the first time Chomolungma submitted to man in 1953, and since that time the stream of those wishing to set foot on the top of the world has not dried up.
The southern slopes of the Himalayas are constantly under the influence of monsoons and abundant in rainfall. Northern slopes in a cold and dry continental climate.
Pamir
This mountain system is located on the territory of several states. Afghanistan, China, Tajikistan and India are the countries through which the mountain range passes. The highest point of the Pamirs is Kongur peak. To visit it, you have to go to China. The height of Kognur is 7649 meters above sea level.
The Pamirs can boast of three more seven-thousanders. today it has been renamed Ismail Samani Peak. The height of the summit is 7495 m.
Lenin Peak is now the peak of Abu Ali ibn Sina. The height of the peak is 7134 m. The name of this peak immortalized the name of the greatest healer of antiquity - Avicenna.
Peak Korzhenevskaya. The greatest declaration of love! The peak with a height of 7105 m was discovered in 1910 by the Russian geographer Korzhenevsky and named after his wife and constant companion in the most difficult travels and expeditions - Evgenia Korzhenevskaya.
The climate of the Pamirs is sharply continental. It has very cold winters and short summers. The mountains of Asia, in principle, abound with glaciers, and the Pamirs are no exception. The largest glacier in the Pamirs is named after the great geographer and explorer Fedchenko. It was opened in 1928.
Karakorum
It would be a mistake to describe the mountains of Asia and not talk about the Karakorum. In this system, an eight-thousander was formed, which gave way to the highest peak in the world. The name of this peak is Dapsang, and its height is 8611 m. The average height of this mountain system exceeds 6000 meters. Most of the passes are located at altitudes from 4500 to 5800 m. The Karakorum ridge consists of crystalline rocks, shale and different kind marble. The largest glaciers in Asia are also located here.
Tien Shan and Kunlun
These outstanding mountain systems are also among the highest in the world. Tien Shan passes through five countries. Its name is translated from Chinese as "heavenly mountains". A large number of peaks of this ridge are located above 6000 meters. The highest peak of the Tien Shan is located on the territory of Kyrgyzstan and is called Pobeda Peak. Its height is 7440 m.
Kunlun is the longest mountain range in Asia. Its length is more than 2700 km. AND highest point system - Mount Aksai-Chin, the height of which is 7167 m. The name of the entire system is translated as "lunar mountains".
This is only part of the answer to the question of which mountains in Asia are the highest. The complete list of Asian mountain systems consists of several dozen names. So there is still a lot of interesting information for people curious in this direction.
The process of mountain formation on Earth lasts for millions of years. They arise from the collisions of the huge tectonic plates that make up the earth's crust.
Today we will get acquainted with the highest mountains on 6 continents and see how they look against the background of the highest mountain peaks in the world - "eight-thousanders", whose height above sea level exceeds 8,000 meters.
How many continents are there on Earth? Sometimes it is believed that Europe and Asia are 2 different continents, although they are one continent:
Before we begin our story about the tallest mountains on 6 continents, let's take a look at a general diagram of the highest peaks on Earth.
"Eight-thousanders" is the common name for the 14 highest mountain peaks in the world, whose altitude exceeds 8,000 meters. They are all in Asia. The conquest of all 14 "eight-thousanders" of the planet - the conquest of the "Crown of the Earth" - is a great achievement in high-altitude mountaineering. As of July 2012, only 30 climbers managed to do this.
North America - Mount McKinley, 6,194 m
This is the highest two-headed mountain in North America, named after the 25th President of the United States. Located in Alaska.
The indigenous peoples called this peak "Denali", which means "great," and during the period of Russian colonization of Alaska it was simply called - Big Mountain.
Mount McKinley, view from national park Denali:
The first ascent to the main peak of McKinley took place on June 7, 1913. There are 5 large glaciers on the slopes of the mountain.
South America - Mount Aconcagua, 6,962 m
It is the highest point of the American continent, South America, and the western and southern hemispheres. Belong to the longest mountain range in the world - the Andes.
The mountain is located in Argentina and in the Quechua language means "Stone Guard". Aconcagua is the largest dormant volcano on our planet.
In mountaineering, Aconcagua is considered a technically easy mountain if you climb the northern slope.
The first recorded ascent of the mountain was in 1897.
Europe - Mount Elbrus, 5 642 m
This stratovolcano in the Caucasus is the highest peak in Russia. Considering that the border between Europe and Asia is ambiguous, Elbrus is often called the highest European mountain peak.
Elbrus is a two-headed volcano with a saddle. The western peak has a height of 5,642 m, the Eastern - 5,621 m. The last eruption dates back to 50 AD ...
In those days, the eruptions of Elbrus probably resembled the eruptions of modern Vesuvius, but they were more powerful. At the beginning of the eruption, powerful clouds of vapors and gases, saturated with black ash, rose from the craters of the volcano at the beginning of the eruption, covering the entire sky, turning day into night. The earth shook from powerful tremors.
Today both peaks of Elbrus are covered with eternal snow and ice. On the slopes of Elbrus, 23 glaciers diverge in different directions. The average speed of movement of glaciers is about 0.5 meters per day.
The first successful ascent to one of the peaks of Elbrus was made in 1829. The average annual death toll during the ascent of Elbrus is 15-30 people.
Asia - Mount Everest, 8 848 m
Everest (Chomolungma) is the top of our world! It is the first eight-thousander in height and the highest mountain on Earth.
The mountain is located in the Himalayas in the Mahalangur-Himal ridge, with the South peak (8760 m) lying on the border of Nepal, and the North (main) peak (8848 m) located in China
Everest has the shape of a triangular pyramid. At the top of Chomolungma there are strong winds blowing at speeds up to 200 km / h, and the air temperature at night drops to -60 Celsius.
The first ascent to the summit of Everest took place in 1953. Since the first ascent to the summit until 2011, more than 200 people have died on the slopes of Everest. Now the ascent to the top takes about 2 months - with acclimatization and setting up camps.
View from space:
Climbing Mount Everest is not only extremely dangerous, but also expensive: the cost of climbing as part of specialized groups is up to 65 thousand US dollars, and the only one permission to climb, issued by the government of Nepal, costs 10 thousand dollars
Australia and Oceania - Mount Punchak Jaya, 4884 m
The highest peak in Australia and Oceania, which is located on the island New Guinea... She is on the Australian plate and is the most high mountain in the world, located on an island.
The mountain was discovered in 1623 by the Dutch explorer Jan Carstens, who saw from afar into the glacier at the summit. Therefore, the mountain is sometimes called the Pyramid of Carstens.
The first ascent of Punchak-Jaya took place only in 1962. The name of the mountain from the Indonesian language translates roughly as "Pobeda Peak".
Antarctica - Windson Massif, 4 892 m
These are the highest mountains in Antarctica. The existence of the mountain range became known only in 1957. Since the mountains were discovered by American planes, they were later named Vinson Massif, after the famous American politician Carl Vinson.
View of Vinson Massif from space:
Africa - Mount Kilimanjaro, 5895 m
It is the highest point in Africa, a huge dormant volcano with two well-defined peaks in northeastern Tanzania. The mountain has had no documented eruptions, but local legends speak of volcanic activity 150-200 years ago.
The higher one is Kibo Peak, an almost regular cone with powerful glaciation.
The name comes from the Swahili language and supposedly means “the mountain that sparkles”.
The snow cap that has covered the top of the mountain for 11,000 years since the last Ice Age is rapidly melting. Over the past 100 years, the volume of snow and ice has decreased by more than 80%. This is believed to be caused not by a change in temperature, but by a reduction in snowfall.
The highest peak in Africa was first conquered by the German traveler Hans Meyer in 1889.
Countries in Asia: large and small. The largest mountains, islands, rivers and lakes of the continent
Asia is the largest in area (44,579,000 km2) and the most populated part of the world (3.88 billion inhabitants) of the planet Earth. Together with Europe, it forms a single (not divided by straits) continent of Eurasia, which is connected by the Isthmus of Suez with Africa, and is separated from North America by a rather narrow Bering Strait (the maximum width is only 86 km). Asia is washed by the waters of all four oceans: the Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Atlantic (Mediterranean Sea).
- In Asia, there are enough wonders of the world, both those that mother nature gave to mankind like Halong Bay in Vietnam or wonderful in Thailand, and those that were created by man
Some, like Great wall of china or, very famous, others - not very, but some (for example, in Japan, the Sigiriya palace on a rock in Sri Lanka, the imperial residence in Hue in Vietnam), and even today are considered regional attractions, although they clearly deserve more !
Asian countries (47 states):
- Most of Asia's population is concentrated in countries such as China (PRC): over 1.3 billion people, and India: 1.1 billion people, which are the most populous on the planet.
Geography of Asia: mountains, rivers, lakes and islands
Asia is the most mountainous part of the world: the average height of the territory is 950 meters. The main mountain ranges cross the continent approximately in the middle: in the south-west-north-east direction. The highest plateau, the Tibetan plateau, rises above the surface of the world's oceans by about 4500 meters and covers an area of \u200b\u200babout 2.5 million square kilometers.
- Here is also the highest mountain system in the world, the Himalayas (which in translation from Sanskrit means "dwelling, refuge of snow"), which includes 17 (!) Highest mountains of the planet. Sino-Nepalese Chomolungma (or Everest, 8,848 meters), Pakistani K-2 (Chogo Gangri, 8,611 meters), and Indian-Nepalese Kangchenjunga (Kangchen Dzö-nga, 8,586 meters) top this impressive list.
Asia is also home to many volcanoes, most of which are active. From the most famous we will single out:
- klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano in Kamchatka is the highest active volcano in Eurasia (4750 meters). It is distinguished by increased activity to this day. The last recorded eruption was in 2007
- The Indonesian (Krakatoa) is also world-famous, which once “devoured” itself. Once he was on the island of the same name, located between Java and Sumatra, and in 1883 gave birth to a mighty eruption (on a nuclear scale equal to about 200 megatons), which was heard even in the distance of 3100 kilometers, Australian Perth.
The sky, even over Europe, was long painted with an ominous red color because of the ash clouds raised into the atmosphere - the famous Norwegian artist Munch even dedicated it to this. By the way, another eruption of Krakatau (in 1927) "gave birth" to a small (about 2 km in diameter) volcanic island called "Son of Krakatau" (Anak Krakatau). He grows quickly and, like the parent, has a violent disposition.
We also mention:
Pusuk Buhit, Lake Toba, Indonesia - Tomboro (Tambora or Tomboro), also located in Indonesia and in 1815 during the eruption (supposedly the strongest in recent history) who destroyed more than 70 thousand inhabitants of the island of Sumbawa
- indonesian (Lake Toba), which is simultaneously a supervolcano and occupies an area of \u200b\u200babout 100 by 30 km. The largest volcano lake in the world. It is believed that the massive eruption of this volcano about 70-75 thousand years ago led to global climate change.
- An entire volcano region is also in Indonesia, which is a popular tourist attraction in the country mainly because of its pristine landscape from the series "So the Earth was born"
Mount Fuji in Japan - (Fuji), considered one of the three Japanese " Sacred mountains"And having a relatively" meek "disposition. The last recorded eruption dates back to 1707-1708. Fuji is located very close to the Japanese capital, Tokyo, is very loved by tourists and therefore is positioned as one of the main attractions of the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Any tourist can climb this mountain today - in the summer season!
The Asian continent includes a large number of islands. The largest of them are Indonesian Borneo (third largest, 743 330 km2, after and Papua New Guinea island in the world) and Sumatra (470,000 km2). And the most populous: Indonesian Java (124 million inhabitants according to 2005 estimates) and Japanese Honshu (103 million people).
, Sri Lanka Some Asian countries are located exclusively on the islands (island): Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia, Cyprus, Maldives, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Philippines and Japan and have no territories on the continent.
- The largest peninsulas of Asia: Hindustan (or the subcontinent of India, with an area of \u200b\u200b4,480,000 sq. Km), Arabian Peninsula, Indo-China Peninsula, Kamchatka Peninsula, Korean Peninsula
Most big rivers continental Asia
- chinese Yangtze (6300 km long - 3rd in the world after the South American Amazon and African Nile)
- russian river system Yenisei-Angara-Selenga (5540 km)
- chinese Yellow River ("Yellow River", 5464 km)
- russian river system Ob-Irtysh (5410 km)
- russian-Chinese-Mongolian river system Amur-Argun (4444 km)
- russian Lena (4400 km).
All these rivers and river systems are included in the list of the ten largest on the planet Earth.
Most large lakes Asia
- The Caspian Sea (with an area of \u200b\u200b371,000 km2) is a colossal body of salt water which is recognized by various sources as either the sea or a lake
- (37,500 km2), in addition to being the deepest lake in the world (1,470 meters) and the largest body of water in terms of fresh water volume (23,600 cubic km)
- Balkhash (18 428 km2).
It is noteworthy that all of these reservoirs are fully or partially located on the territory of the former USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics).
Three-quarters of Asia's surface is occupied by hills and mountains. It is not without reason that yellow and brown colors color almost the entire physical map of Asia.
From the peninsulas of Asia Minor and Arabia to the coast The Pacific there is a continuous strip of plateaus and mountains of different heights. The highest mountain ranges and plateaus are located in Central Asia. They diverge northeast and southeast of the mountainous country Pamir (USSR) (Fig. 53).
3. On a contour map of Asia, draw a red pencil around the southern border of the USSR. Then paint in brown pencil all the ridges along this border.
4. Learn to show all the rivers of northern Asia, as well as the Amu Darya, Syr Darya and Amur. At the same time, say: where does the river flow from, what lowland or plateau it crosses and into which sea it flows.
The highest mountains of Asia and the whole world - the Himalayas - go to the southeast of Pamir... From the south, from the Hindustan lowland, they rise in several parallel ridges, one higher than the other (Fig. 56). And above all these ridges rises, above the clouds and clouds, the snow-white chain of the main ridge of the Himalayas with the top Everest (about 9 kilometers in height).
No matter how many people tried to climb this highest peak in the world, no one has yet managed to do this: the air is too rare, the frost and wind are too strong.
Even in the hottest time of the year, when in India, along the banks of the Ganges, there is a tropical heat, luxurious vegetation blooms, - blizzards howl and frosts crackle on the peaks of the Himalayas. Snow avalanches, deep cracks in glaciers lie in wait for courageous travelers and often ruin them near the goal (Read the story about climbing on)
Many rivers flow down from the huge glaciers of the Himalayas, merging into large rivers (Fig. 57). They flow southward, skirting or crossing mountain ranges. The main ones are - Ganges and Indus, which form the Hindustan lowland.
To the north of the Himalayas rises a high plateau Tibet (fig. 58). Tibet lies at an altitude of 4 kilometers, that is, at the height of the Alps in Europe. Only familiar people can live on this plateau, since the air there is very thin.
From eastern Tibet originate the most long rivers Asia - Yellow and Blueforming the Chinese lowland.
To the north of Tibet, a hill is spread over a large area. It is considerably lower than Tibet; mountains surround it on all sides. There are almost no rivers and lakes here. This is a desert Gobi, barren, with a sparse population.
This is the surface of Central Asia. Western Asia, as seen on the map, is almost entirely sublime... Only between the Black and Caspian Seas, on the border of Europe and Asia, there is a high Caucasian a ridge with many glaciers and peaks up to 5.5 kilometers (Elbrus).
1. Find on the map of Asia and the map of the hemispheres of the Himalayas, Tibet and Gobi.
2. Follow the flow of the rivers: Indus, Ganges, Blue, Yellow. Mark their origins on a contour map.
3. Paint over the mountains above with a brown pencil, aligning them with the river flow.
4. Make the Tibet Highlands light brown and the highlands north of it yellow. Use the same color to paint over the hills of Western Asia, highlighting Caucasus mountains brown.
5. The rest of Asia and large islands on the contour map, paint in yellow and green, matching the color with the physical map of Asia.
6. Learn to show all the great rivers of East and South Asia, while saying: where does the river originate from, what height and lowland it crosses and into what sea it flows.
Since ancient times, mountains have attracted people. The history of their research is extremely fascinating. Many people are interested in what is the tallest mountain in the world.
The proposed material tells about the most famous mountain peaks in the world, the history of their conquest and interesting moments associated with this.
The European continent is part of the Eurasian continent. Unlike the Asian half, it is not distinguished by such serious mountain peaks.
But there are mountain ranges with peaks included in the list of the most significant on Earth. Let us consider in more detail the characteristics of the notable mountains in Europe.
In Russia, they differ in the greatest height mountain range Caucasus.
The most famous peaks are:
- Dykhtau - located near the Georgian-Russian border. The summit was first conquered in 1888 by a mixed Swedish-English mountaineering team.
It is easy to climb and is always popular with tourists. Height - 5205 m.
- Elbrus - the highest mountain in the country, formed by an extinct volcanic vent and consists of two peaks united by a bridge.
The western one exceeds the sea level by 5642 m. The first ascent was made by an English team in 1874.
- Tsakhvoa - the most significant and picturesque peak in Sochi. A biosphere reserve has been established here.
- In Dagestan there are five peaks, some of which exceed sea level by over four thousand meters.
In addition to the Caucasus, the Ural Mountains should be noted. This system is very old when compared with the previous one, and therefore does not differ in serious height.
Ural mountains, conventionally dissecting Eurasia into two parts of the world, are characterized by large deposits of minerals. From the point of view of climbers, there is nothing remarkable in the Urals.
Altai mountains are located close to the Mongolian border and are characterized by stepped relief forms with peaked peaks and lake valleys. The height of their peaks does not exceed two thousand meters.
The mountains in Crimea do not differ in height either. The most famous peak (Roman-Kash) extends 1545 m above sea level.
Eastern Europe is marked by the following mountains marked on the map:
- Hoverla, located in Ukraine in the Carpathians, is a popular tourist site, height 2061 m. Opening of the first tourist route took place in 1880.
Part of the Carpathian Ridge is called the Ugric Mountains by some local peoples living in Hungary and western Ukraine. The massif is not high, but very picturesque.
- In Kazakhstan - massifs characterized by high and low mountain areas.
In a low mountain located in the center of the country, the highest point is located at one and a half thousand meters. Alpine mountains are represented by peaks exceeding one and a half thousand meters.
- In Georgia stands out Mount Shkhara 5201 m high, representing central part massif of the Caucasus, on the border with our country.
- In Bashkortostan, Yamantau is known, representing the southern Urals; characterized by two peaks, the Big (1640 m.) and Small (1510 m.).
Within the territory of Western Europe the following mountains are located:
- Mont Blanc - Western European peak (4810 m.) On the border of Italy and France in the western part of the alpine massif.
- Dufour (4634 m.) - the top in the Swiss and Italian territory. Highest Swiss mountain peak.
- House (4554 m.) - Swiss mountain, first conquered by Briton Davis.
- Liskamm (4538 m.) - a peak on the border of Switzerland and Italy, dangerous with avalanches and nicknamed the man-eater.
- Weisshorn (4506 m.) - another Swiss summit, conquered by the British climber John Tyndall.
- Matterhorn (4478 m.) - also on the border between Switzerland and Italy. During its conquest, four climbers fell into the abyss.
- Unlike the closest neighbors, in Germany there are so many tall arrays... There are several peaks up to three thousand meters high.
- In Great Britain there are also several mountain systems, the highest are the Grampian Mountains, which represent Scotland.
The height of some of the peaks exceeds 1.3 thousand meters from the base.
- In Greece there are several peaks, the most significant of which is Olympus. Associated with her ancient greek mythsthat have come down to us from the deep past of Greece.
In addition to it, several more peaks are noted, with a height not exceeding three thousand meters.
History of the highest mountains in Asia
The Asian continent is distinguished by the presence of the highest peaks belonging to Himalayan mountainspassing through the territory of different countries:
- Chomolungma (8848 m.). The modern name of the mountain is Everest, located in China, next to Nepal.
It is impossible to get to the top of the mountain without the use of special oxygen devices. Conquered for the first time in 1853.
- Chogori (8611 m.) - almost reaches Everest. Located in the northern territories of Pakistan.
- Kanchenjunga (8586 m.) - also in the Himalayas, in India, not far from Nepal.
- Lhotse (8516 m.) - a representative of the Tibet Autonomous Region, located near Everest, from which the South Col pass separates.
The first time a Swiss expedition climbed the peak in 1956.
- Makalu (8485 m.) - another Himalayan peak, conquered in 1955 by a French team.
- Himalayan chain represented in addition to those listed by six more eight-thousanders belonging to India, Pakistan and China.
- In Japan the famous peak is Mount Fuji of volcanic origin, which does not reach up to four thousand meters.
Due to its close to ideal conical shape, it is a cult site on the island of Honshu, a place of worship for pilgrims of the Buddhist and Shinto religions.
- In Australia no high mountain rangesbut they are as distinctive as the continent itself.
The height of the West Australian Highlands does not exceed five hundred meters. The mainland is divided by a chain with a length of four thousand kilometers.
One part of it is called the Australian Alps, it is the tallest system on the continent, some peaks of which barely exceed two thousand meters.
In addition to those listed, there are mountain systems in other parts of the world.
In Africa, unlike Asia, there are no mountains so high. Kilimanjaro, whose name translates as "sparkling mountain", is famous, located in Tanzania, at a height of nine hundred meters.
In North America interesting is the Cordelier array. Most of them are located in the United States, and also pass through Canada and Mexico.
The ridge is located along the western part of the American continent, over six hundred and fifty kilometers long. The Robson summit, included in the part called Rocky mountains, rises to 3954 m.
IN South America this massif continues with the Andes. This is the longest mountain range on Earth, its length is nine thousand kilometers, with an average height of four thousand meters.
The highest peak - Aconcagua (almost seven thousand meters) - is located in Argentina.
In Antarctica There are several mountain ranges... The height of the Vinson Massif reaches 4892 m.
TOP 10 highest mountains in the world
Here is a list of the 10 most high peaks world in the table, indicated in descending order:
Photos of these peaks can be found on the Internet without any problems.
Interesting fact! In the above list highest peaks represent the Himalayas - the most significant mountain system in the world.
The tallest mountain in the world - what is the name, what is the height, history of ascents
As already noted, the most big mountain on the planet - Chomolungma. Any climber dreams of climbing it, but not everyone can boast of it.
Almost three hundred climbers and Sherpas died while climbing to the top. Up to seven thousand successful expeditions were recorded, in which more than four thousand people took part.
The first attempt was made in 1921 and ended in failure. The Italian climbers achieved success only in 1953.
As you can see, there are many peaks on the planet that pose difficult tasks for man.
But, conquering mountain peaks, people, overcoming multiple difficulties, temper their character and improve themselves. Only a purposeful person will succeed in conquering the mountains.
Useful video
