• Home
  • Geography
    • Physical Geography
      • Geomorphology
      • Climatology
      • Climatic Regions
      • Oceanography
    • Indian Geography
    • Economic Geography
  • Environment
  • Science
  • Contact
  • New
  • Store
  • Newsletter
  • Ad Free
    • One Year Add Free Subscription @ just Rs. 49/- Know More

      Already subscribed? Login Here and Reload the Current Page.

      -------------- OR --------------

      Login with GoogleLogin with Facebook

      Manage Account. Questions? Contact us.

  • Books

PMF IAS

Notes for UPSC IAS Civil Services Exam

50% OFF on ALL  Geography GS PDF  Environment PDF  Sci & Tech CA PDF Major Crops PDF Art & Culture
PMF IAS > Geography > Geomorphology > Types of Mountains | Classification of Mountains

Types of Mountains | Classification of Mountains

Previous Post:Continent - Continent Convergence | Formation of Himalayas
Next Post:Fold Mountains & Block Mountains (most important types of mountains)

December 20, 2015 by PMF IAS 1 Comment

Save 50% December Week-1 Current Affairs uploaded on PMF STORE

Table of Contents

  • Orogeny
  • Types of Mountains – Classification of Mountains
      • On the basis of location
      • On the basis of period of origin
      • On the basis of mode of origin
      • Based on the formation process
Share
WhatsApp
Tweet
Email

In this post we will study about different Types of Mountains which are classified based on various factors.

This post will be helpful to answer location based questions.

Orogeny

  • Orogeny (Geology) is a process in which a section of the earth’s crust is folded and deformed by lateral compression to form a mountain range.
  • Orogenic movements are ‘Tectonic movements’ of the earth which involve the folding of sediments, faulting and metamorphism [Geology (of rock) that has undergone transformation by heat, pressure, or other natural agencies].

Formation of Fold Mountains already explained in Continent – Ocean Convergence – Formation of Andes, Rockies and Continent – Continent Convergence: Formation of Himalayas

Types of Mountains – Classification of Mountains

Mountains-in-the-world

On the basis of location

Continental mountains

Coastal mountains
  • the Rockies,
  • the Appalachians,
  • the Alpine mountain chains,
  • the Western Ghats and
  • the Eastern Ghats (India);
Inland mountains
  • the Vosges and the Black Forest (Europe),
  • the Kunlun, Tienshan, Altai mountains of Asia,
  • the Urals of Russia, the Aravallis,
  • the Himalayas, the Satpura, and the Maikal of India.

Oceanic mountains

  • Oceanic mountains are found on continental shelves and ocean floors.
  • If the height of the mountains is considered from the ocean floor, Mauna Kea (9140) would be the highest mountain.

On the basis of period of origin

  • A total of nine orogenic or mountain building movements have taken place so far.
  • Some of them occurred in Pre-Cambrian times between 600-3,500 million years ago.
  • The three more recent orogenies are the Caledonian, Hercynian and Alpine.

Precambrian mountains

  • They belong to the Pre-Cambrian period, a period that extended for more than 4 billion years.
  • The rocks have been subjected to upheaval, denudation and metamorphosis. So the remnants appear as ‘residual mountains’.
  • Some of the examples are Laurentian mountains, Algoman mountains.

Laurentian mountains - Algoman mountains

Caledonian mountains

  • They originated due to the great mountain-building movements and associated tectonic movements of the late Silurian and early Devonian periods.
  • Caledonian mountains came into existence between approximately 430 million years and 380 million years ago.
  • Examples are the Appalachians, Aravallis,  Mahadeo etc.

Hercynian mountains

  • These mountains originated during the upper Carboniferous to Permian Period in Europe.
  • Hercynian mountains came into existence between approximately 340 million ears and 225 million years ago.
  • Some examples are the mountains of Vosges and Black Forest, Altai, Tien Shan mountains of Asia, Ural Mountains etc.
Caledonian mountains
Caledonian mountains
Caledonian and Hercynian mountains
Caledonian and Hercynian mountains

vosges-blackforest-mountains-urals

Alpine system

  • Has its origin in the Tertiary Period which consists of the Palaeocene, Eocene, Oligocene, Miocene and Pliocene epochs.
  • The mountains were formed from about 65 million  years to 7 million years ago.

Examples are

  • the Rockies of North America, the Alpine mountains of Europe,
  • the Atlas mountains of north-western Africa,
  • the Himalayas of the Indian subcontinent in mountains radiating from Pamir knot like Pauntic, Taurus, Elburz, Zagros and Kunlun etc.

Being the most recently formed, these ranges, such as the Alps, Himalayas, Andes and Rockies are the loftiest with rugged terrain.

On the basis of mode of origin

Original or Tectonic mountains

  • Original or Tectonic mountains are the product of tectonic forces.
  • The tectonic mountains may be categorized into fold mountains (Himalayas, Rockies, Andes etc.), block mountains (Vosges mountains in France, Black Forest in Germany, Vindhya and Satpuras in India etc.) and volcanic mountains (Cascade Range in USA, Mount Kenya, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Fujiyama etc.).

Circum-erosional or Relict or Residual mountains

  • Circum-erosional or Relict or Residual mountains (Aravalis in India, Urals in Russia etc.) are the remnants of old fold mountains derived as a result of denudation [strip of covering or possessions; make bare].

Based on the formation process

  • Fold mountains
  • Block mountains
  • Volcanic mountains

These will be explained in detail in the next post: Fold Mountains – Block Mountains

Share
WhatsApp
Tweet
Email
If you are finding our work useful, you can help us! Get our PDF Notes OR Contribute
Save 50% Save 50% Save 50%
Previous Post:Continent - Continent Convergence | Formation of Himalayas
Next Post:Fold Mountains & Block Mountains (most important types of mountains)

Filed Under: Geography, Geomorphology, Physical Geography

Search and compare the prices of Books atAmazon

Product Recommendations

Books for Geography Optional


India a Comprehensive Geography
India a Comprehensive Geography
Rs. 590
22 new from Rs. 470
Buy Now
Amazon.in
Last updated on December 12, 2019 6:00 PM

 

Featured Links

Subscribe to Pmfias.com Email Newsletter  Geography Notes (Static + Current Affairs) for GS UPSC CSE  Environment Notes (Static + Current Affairs) for GS UPSC CSE  Suggested Books for General Studies UPSC CSE Suggested Books for Geography Optional CSE  Download PPTs of Pmfias.com YouTube videos  Download Astronomy Notes for Prelims  Geography Notes (Static + Current Affairs) for GS  Environment Notes (Static + Current Affairs) for GS  Science and Technology Current Affairs PDF & DOC Major Crops Static Notes + Indian Agriculture Current Affairs)  Save 50% on All Pmfias PDF and DOC notes  Subscribe to Pmfias Ad Free at Rs. 49 per year Sponsored Link: Art & Culture by Nextgenias
December Week-1 Current Affairs uploaded on PMF STORE

Featured Posts

geography-notes-pdf-gs-upsc-ias-cse

Geography Notes PDF for UPSC IAS Civil Services Exam

The Geological Time Scale

Geological Time Scale: Hadean, Archean, Proterozoic & Phanerozoic

River Basins - Drainage Systems in India

Classification of Drainage Systems of India

Physical Geography by Savindra Singh

Grazing food chain

Energy Flow through an Ecosystem: Food Chain, Food Web

Chromite Chromite Ore Distribution In India

Copper, Nickel & Chromite Distribution across India & World

Distribution of Coal across the World

Distribution of Coal across the World

Copyright © 2016-19 Pmfias.com. All rights reserved | Terms & Privacy | Amazon and Flipkart Affiliate Disclosure | Contact | Advertise