The longest mountain in the world: TOP-4

One mountain is wonderful, but it's even better if there are many mountains. Especially pleasing to the eye, when they are united in a long ridge, in which peaks alternate with valleys, small spurs, and all this is diluted by the murmur of rivers. Such beauty, stretching for several thousand kilometers, will not leave anyone indifferent. The origin of mountain chains explains the theory of the formation of the relief. It says: the ridges of valleys, mountains and hills are formed due to the collision of continental slabs creeping on each other. It is difficult to imagine the forces that are necessary for such a process. Yes it is not necessary. It is better to admire the result of their activities. Especially if it is the longest mountain in the world. Let's make their rating and find out the location.

Cordilleras

To begin with, I want to clarify one important point. Very many confuse these mountains with the Andes, although these are two completely different chains formed in different epochs. Some call the Andes "the Andean Cordilleras," but they have nothing to do with these mountains. There is also confusion about the location of their location. Cordilleras "hug" North America from the south and west, creating a dense climatic barrier. For South America, the Andes play the same role. Interestingly, these mountains almost converge at the junction of the 2 Americas. Therefore, they are often combined into a single mountain range, which is fundamentally wrong. It will be more correct not to confuse these giants and leave the Cordillera to North America, and the Andes to the South.

So, the Cordilleras is the longest mountain in the world, with a length of just over 18,000 kilometers. They differ from their "colleagues" in a number of features. The cordilleras are elongated exclusively in the submeridional direction, have a high percentage of high mountains, are formed in five orotectonic belts of different ages, have active volcanism and high seismicity.

Sea Mountains

Not everyone knows that mountains can be located not only on the ground, but also under water. Unfortunately, most of them are hidden from the eyes of hikers. And they are of little interest, because on such mountains you will not ride on skis. Well, conquering the tops will look pretty ridiculous. But underwater chains are not inferior in quantity to above-ground ones. The height of the underwater giants is difficult to determine, but the extent is easy to measure.

So, the second place in the rating "The longest mountain in the world" in the Mid-Atlantic ridge with a total length of 18,000 kilometers. It is located in the center of the Atlantic Ocean, along the contour of the American coast. This education includes several ridges: Knipovich, Mona, Reykjanes, South and North Atlantic. Individual peaks were transformed into islands (Azores, Bermudas, etc.). Among the above ranges, there are no particularly high, old or young, just the longest mountains on earth after the Cordillera, which is also quite a lot. Go ahead.

Andes

The Andes are the third longest mountain in the world, with a total length of 9,000 kilometers. Their broad front of the Andes are directed to the Pacific Ocean, and in the north they reach the Caribbean Sea. The eastern part of the border leads to the Andean mountain ranges. By the way, raznogovrastastnye ridges are located along the entire length of the mountain system. Mountaineering movements continue even now, accompanied by earthquakes and volcanic processes.

For the Andes, there is a high-mountainous relief, which determines appreciable altitudinal zonality and the formation of a significant glaciation. The huge length of the mountain system determines the difference in moisture and heat supply of its individual parts. Despite the fact that the subcontinent has a mountain character, its territory has long been densely populated. The Andean peoples mastered the high plains, intermountain valleys and hollows within the mountain system and adapted to life under similar conditions. In the Andes are the most high-altitude villages, cities and cultivated land. Within the mountains, there are six physical-geographical units. But in this article we will tell only about two: Central Andes and Tierra del Fuego.

Central Andes

The largest part of the mountain system. In its limits are located the mountain ranges of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru. The orotectonic structure is characterized by the presence of highland plateaus and the plateau - "Pun" (or "Altiplano" in Bolivia). The rigid median array, within which the data of the plain was formed, is divided into several blocks. This is clearly seen from the cracks that appeared due to the elevation of magma and the outflow of lavas. As a result, a combination of accumulative plains in the lowlands of the relief, plots of peneplain and lava plateaus is observed here. As for the climate, in the Central Andes it is quite arid.

Tierra del Fuego

The archipelago includes several dozen islands of different areas. The largest of them, occupying two-thirds of the total territory, is Fr. Tierra del Fuego. The islands belong to Argentina and Chile. The western part of Tierra del Fuego continues the Andean mountain system and is heavily dismembered. Mountain ranges (1000-1300 meters) are divided by intermountain valleys, and some are flooded with ocean waters - by straits, fjords. The highest point (2469 meters) is located on the Big Island. The ancient glacial relief prevails. There are a lot of lakes, stifled moraines.

On a larger territory of the archipelago, a mild maritime climate prevails. In the western part, throughout the year, heavy precipitation (drizzling rain) falls to 3000 mm. In the east, the precipitation is less - up to 500 mm. The summer is cool and the winter is relatively warm (1-5 ° C). Tourists who visited Tierra del Fuego say that summer is there, as in the tundra, and winter is similar to the subtropics (in terms of temperatures). With the rise in the mountains the temperature drops sharply and already at a mark of 500 meters reaches a negative value.

Transantarctic mountains

In Antarctica there is not only ice, snow and penguins, but also mountains. And quite long. The whole of Antarctica is crossed by a huge ridge, dividing it into the Western and Eastern ranges. This ice giant, occupying the last place in the rating "The longest mountain in the world", stretched for 3,500 kilometers. The ridge was opened in 1908 by Captain Ross. In subsequent years, he was repeatedly crossed by research expeditions, but most of it still remains unexplored. Fortunately, now there is a satellite survey, which allows if you do not feel the ridge, then at least look at it.