Ranges, and young and old mountains

Most of the world's mountains stand together in mountain ranges: chains of mountains, such as the Himalayas in Asia, the Alps in Europe and the Andes in South America. Some ranges stretch for thousands of kilometres.

The book pictures six mountains and draws them side by side so you can compare their heights. A good way to learn them is to make a little table in your notebook: range | highest peak | where it is.

• Mount Everest (between Tibet in China and Nepal) and Kanchenjunga (between Nepal and the Indian state of Sikkim) are the two highest peaks of the Himalayas.
• Mount Aconcagua in South America is the highest peak of the Andes.
• Mont Blanc in Western Europe is the highest mountain of the Alps.
• Mount Kilimanjaro in eastern Africa is an isolated mountain, not part of any range.
• Anamudi in Kerala (also called Anai Peak) is the highest mountain in south India.

Kilimanjaro is the odd one out: most mountains are in ranges, not all.

The shape of a mountain tells you something about its age. Mountains with tall, sharp peaks, like the Himalayas, are relatively young: formed recently in the Earth's history, though that still means millions of years ago!

Shorter, more rounded mountains and hills, like the Aravalli Range, are much older. Wind, rain, ice and rivers have worn them down over a very long time; this wearing away is called erosion.

In some mountains, like the Himalayas, upliftment (being pushed up) and erosion are both still going on. The Himalayas are still growing in height: they are being pushed up faster than the weather can wear them down.