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18-656: The Refugium Range is a low, small mountain range comprising the mountains / hills of the Brooks Peninsula on northern Vancouver Island , British Columbia , Canada . It has an area of 239 km (92 sq mi) and is a subrange of the Vancouver Island Ranges which in turn form part of the Insular Mountains . The range was named in 1981 by an expedition which found that peaks higher than 700 m (2,300 ft) were above

36-602: Is a major factor for meteorologists to consider when they forecast the local weather. Orography can play a major role in determining the type, amount, intensity, and duration of precipitation events. Researchers have discovered that barrier width, slope steepness, and updraft speed are major contributors when it comes to achieving the optimal amount and intensity of orographic precipitation. Computer models simulating these factors have shown that narrow barriers and steeper slopes produce stronger updraft speeds, which in turn increase orographic precipitation. Orographic precipitation

54-538: Is at work while the mountains are being uplifted until the mountains are reduced to low hills and plains. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example. As the uplift was occurring some 10,000 feet (3,000 m) of mostly Mesozoic sedimentary strata were removed by erosion over the core of the mountain range and spread as sand and clays across the Great Plains to

72-423: Is being lifted expands and cools adiabatically. This adiabatic cooling of a rising moist air parcel may lower its temperature to its dew point , thus allowing for condensation of the water vapor contained within it, and hence the formation of a cloud . If enough water vapor condenses into cloud droplets, these droplets may become large enough to fall to the ground as precipitation. Terrain-induced precipitation

90-663: Is known to occur on oceanic islands , such as the Hawaiian Islands and New Zealand ; much of the rainfall received on such islands is on the windward side, and the leeward side tends to be quite dry, almost desert -like. This phenomenon results in substantial local gradients in the amount of average rainfall, with coastal areas receiving on the order of 20 to 30 inches (510 to 760 mm) per year, and interior uplands receiving over 100 inches (2,500 mm) per year. Leeward coastal areas are especially dry—less than 20 in (510 mm) per year at Waikiki —and

108-486: Is the study of the topographic relief of mountains , and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a region's elevated terrain. Orography (also known as oreography , orology, or oreology ) falls within the broader discipline of geomorphology . The term orography comes from the Greek : όρος , hill, γράφω , to write. Mountain ranges and elevated land masses have a major impact on global climate. For instance,

126-865: The Alpide belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera , the Aleutian Range , on through Kamchatka Peninsula , Japan , Taiwan , the Philippines , Papua New Guinea , to New Zealand . The Andes is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system. The Alpide belt stretches 15,000 km across southern Eurasia , from Java in Maritime Southeast Asia to

144-551: The Annamite Range . If the definition of a mountain range is stretched to include underwater mountains, then the Ocean Ridge forms the longest continuous mountain system on Earth, with a length of 65,000 kilometres (40,400 mi). The position of mountain ranges influences climate, such as rain or snow. When air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools, producing orographic precipitation (rain or snow). As

162-804: The Iberian Peninsula in Western Europe , including the ranges of the Himalayas , Karakoram , Hindu Kush , Alborz , Caucasus , and the Alps . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest , which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high. Mountain ranges outside these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera , Appalachians , Great Dividing Range , East Siberians , Altais , Scandinavians , Qinling , Western Ghats , Vindhyas , Byrrangas , and

180-560: The Mithrim Montes and Doom Mons on Titan, and Tenzing Montes and Hillary Montes on Pluto. Some terrestrial planets other than Earth also exhibit rocky mountain ranges, such as Maxwell Montes on Venus taller than any on Earth and Tartarus Montes on Mars . Jupiter's moon Io has mountain ranges formed from tectonic processes including the Boösaule , Dorian, Hi'iaka and Euboea Montes . Orography Orography

198-627: The air descends on the leeward side, it warms again (following the adiabatic lapse rate ) and is drier, having been stripped of much of its moisture. Often, a rain shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. As a consequence, large mountain ranges, such as the Andes, compartmentalize continents into distinct climate regions . Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to erosional forces which work to tear them down. The basins adjacent to an eroding mountain range are then filled with sediments that are buried and turned into sedimentary rock . Erosion

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216-485: The east. This mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift. The removal of such a mass from the core of the range most likely caused further uplift as the region adjusted isostatically in response to the removed weight. Rivers are traditionally believed to be the principal cause of mountain range erosion, by cutting into bedrock and transporting sediment. Computer simulation has shown that as mountain belts change from tectonically active to inactive,

234-472: The elevated areas of East Africa substantially determine the strength of the Indian monsoon . In scientific models, such as general circulation models , orography defines the lower boundary of the model over land. When a river's tributaries or settlements by the river are listed in 'orographic sequence', they are in order from the highest (nearest the source of the river) to the lowest or mainstem (nearest

252-629: The glaciers during the last ice age and are therefore a refugium with unique plants. This article related to a mountain, mountain range, or peak in British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location on the Coast of British Columbia , Canada is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Mountain range Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within

270-476: The mouth). This method of listing tributaries is similar to the Strahler Stream Order , where the headwater tributaries are listed as category 1. Orographic precipitation, also known as relief precipitation, is precipitation generated by a forced upward movement of air upon encountering a physiographic upland (see anabatic wind ). This lifting can be caused by: Upon ascent, the air that

288-627: The rate of erosion drops because there are fewer abrasive particles in the water and fewer landslides. Mountains on other planets and natural satellites of the Solar System, including the Moon , are often isolated and formed mainly by processes such as impacts, though there are examples of mountain ranges (or "Montes") somewhat similar to those on Earth. Saturn 's moon Titan and Pluto , in particular, exhibit large mountain ranges in chains composed mainly of ices rather than rock. Examples include

306-531: The same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes , for example thrust sheets , uplifted blocks , fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types . Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or

324-510: The tops of moderately high uplands are especially wet—about 475 in (12,100 mm) per year at Wai'ale'ale on Kaua'i . Another area in which orographic precipitation is known to occur is the Pennines in the north of England : the west side of the Pennines receives more rain than the east because the clouds are forced up and over the hills and cause the rain to tend to fall on

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