14 DAY TRIAL // The highest mountain in the world is Himalaya: its Chomolungma peak reaches 8,848 m (27,000 ft) in height and its next 170 peaks are all over 7,000 m (23,300 ft) tall, being the next on the worldwide scale! The largest freestanding mountain in the world is Africa's Kilimanjaro: 5,895 m (19,650 ft) with its highest peak, The Uhuru.
For each added 300 m (1,000 ft) in altitude, the overall temperature decreases by 1.8' C. Variations in rainfall, soil and wind make the unique clime of each mountain.
You know the good mood that the fresh air of the mountain gives you. That's because the higher UV radiation can enable the oxygen to form more ozone, which speeds up your metabolism with increased release of energy. But another reason of wellbeing is also given by the fact that the mountain air is cleaner (except when a city is located nearby). At an altitude of 2,000 m (6,600 ft) there may be just 2,500 small particles of dust, pollen and other per cubic cm, while in the air of the big cities, this can go to over 150,000. This is the reason why modern astronomic observatories are often installed on mountains, where the clean and dry air offers the ideal conditions for astronomic observations.
Mountains are not equally hospitable at extreme heights, characterized by the lower air pressure, lower oxygen levels, increased radiation, and extremely powerful winds that make temperatures drop suddenly. Still, in Himalaya, at 6,000 m (20,000 ft) altitude one can find spiders from the Salticidae family, insects, like snowfleas (Colembola) and beetles that feed on the dust containing organic chemicals brought by the wind.
Mountains have modeled human history. Many (historical) borders are made by mountains, like the Pyrenees Mountains, over 3,000 m (10,000 ft) tall, that separate France from Spain. Many other borders follow mountains. Mountains impeded travels, trade, but also invasions, and influenced the shape and sizes of many countries, or the extent of many languages. Many ethnic groups resisted along the millenia in the inaccessible mountains: look at the tens of ethnic groups of the Caucasus.
Because mountains are a barrier against the winds, they influence the clime (rainfall, snowfall, temperature), which dictates what you eat, wear and dwell in. For example, the Kunlun, Tian-Shan, Hindukush and Himalaya mountains of Central Asia go from east to west. They impede the cold Siberian winds to sweep the area but they also impede the wet warm monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean to reach in.
