Mountains stand majestically on the face of earth. Some are green with plantations, some are barren and rocky; while the mountains in the colder regions are snow-clad.

Mountains are generally considered isolated places, because many are difficult to travel to, as roads are scarce and accessibility limited; often the weather is discouraging, even threatening if one wants to go hiking or climbing. They can be hard to climb because they are rocky and rough, or covered with ice, snow or glaciers, which make climbing/travelling dangerous.

But mountains are just wondrous structures that formed millions of years ago. Covering nearly 27 percent of the Earth’s land mass, mountains play an important role in the daily lives of a large part of the world population. For you to benefit from mountains does not mean that you have to live near one. Do you know that about 60-80 percent of the world’s freshwater supply originates from mountainous areas? Yes, the water you get in your homes comes from the mountains far away from your home.

Besides being a source of fresh water, mountains are home to 12-15 percent of the world´s population. That means there are close to a billion people living in mountainous areas, often without access to modern-day facilities. According to United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organisation, more than 90 percent of these mountain dwellers live in the rural areas of developing countries. The sad part is that a vast majority of them are poor and live below the poverty line (that means they earn less than $2.15 per person per day).

Life for people living on mountains at higher altitudes is very challenging, and is affected by factors such as the terrain, the climate, and isolation from the rest of the world. Just imagine people living at 4,000 metres on Mount Everest! I am not kidding, there are whole communities living out there. For this reason, some people think that if given a choice, humans would rather not live there, and would just visit mountains for tourism or to tap the wealth found in mountains, such as minerals, forests, etc. But maybe those born there and whose families have lived there for centuries think otherwise, though modern-day challenges such as climate change are making their lives more difficult.

Mountains have an ecology and biodiversity of their own, with forests and shrubs as well as wild animals, such as wolves, various species of bear, mountain lions, etc. living there, varying from continent to continent. People living in mountainous areas also keep cattle, such as cows, goats, and the shaggy coated yaks. These provide them with meat, milk, cheese, butter and wool. Yaks, mostly found in the Tibetan region, are also used for transport and their hides to make tents for the herdsmen; like most cattle, yak’s dung is also used in keeping the fire lit.

Mountains have a variety of climates, ranging from rainforests to high-altitude deserts. As you climb to higher altitude, not only is there a change in temperature, but ecosystems also change from one area to the next.

While holding them in awe, people travel to mountains for tourism and adventure. Mountain tourism constitutes around 15 to 20 percent of global tourism and is increasing with time. Mountain tourism also benefits the people who live in these areas as it boosts the economy; the common people set up hotels and restaurants for the benefit of travellers and thus earn money. High mountain climbing provides jobs for the local people as they are hired as guides and porters. I am sure you have all heard of the Sherpas living around and on the Himalayan region.

It is a sad fact that while boosting the economy, mountain tourism is also responsible for the deteriorating mountain ecology due to the irresponsible behaviour of tourists.

For instance, people who go on the mountains, even serious climbers, leave their trash there, which not only damages the environment, but also reflects badly on them. It is the responsibility of travellers to keep the environment safe, and keep the biodiversity alive wherever they go.

Like in cities, climate change is affecting the mountains as well. Due to global warming, glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates, which is affecting fresh water supplies for millions of people in the world. Over-exploitation, such as unsustainable farming, commercial mining and logging, is resulting in the loss of habitat and the deterioration of the ecosystem and biodiversity.

Unfortunately, though at least 50 percent of the world’s population depends on mountains to survive — not only for water, but also food and clean energy — relatively little attention has been paid to this fact.

Keeping the importance of mountains in view, the UN declared 2002 as the UN International Year of Mountains. In 2002, December 11 was officially declared as International Mountain Day by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 57/245 to “encourage the international community to organise events at all levels on that day to highlight the importance of sustainable mountain development.”

Since then, International Mountain Day has been observed every year to highlight the role mountains play in our life and to promote awareness for mountain communities around the globe.

Famous mountains

The Alps: The highest and most extensive range system that lies entirely in Europe.

The Andes: Runs from South America’s western side, is the world’s longest mountain range.

The Himalayan mountain range: Separates the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan plateau. It has some of the world’s highest peaks, including the Mount Everest in Nepal.

The Rocky Mountains: The highest mountain system in North America, stretching some 3,000 miles from British Columbia and Alberta in Canada to New Mexico in the US.

The Rwenzori, or Ruwenzori: A range of mountains in eastern equatorial Africa, on the border between Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. Its highest peak reaches 5,100 metres and the upper regions are permanently snow-capped and glaciated.

The Alborz range: Also spelled as Alburz, it is a major mountain range in northern Iran, that is 560 miles (900km) long.

The Atlas Mountains: A range in the Maghreb in North Africa, that separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Ural Mountains: A mountain range that runs approximately from north to south, through western Russia, to the river Ural and north-western Kazakhstan, and forms part of the conventional boundary between the regions of Europe and Asia.

The Alaska Range: A relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950km) mountain range in the south-central region of Alaska, US, is one of the higher ranges in the world after the Himalayas and the Andes.

The Great Dividing Range: Also known as the Eastern Highlands, it runs roughly parallel to the east coast of Australia and forms the fifth-longest land-based mountain chain in the world, and the longest entirely within a single country.

The Karakoram mountain range: Runs along the borders of Pakistan, China, and India. It is the second highest mountain range in the world, and the world’s second highest peak, K2, is part of this mountain range. The Karakoram has 18 summits over 7,500m (24,600ft) in height, with four exceeding 8,000m (26,000ft).

The Hindu Kush: An 800-kilometre-long (500 miles) mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan into north-western Pakistan and far south-eastern Tajikistan.

— Compiled from the internet

Interesting facts

• The longest mountain range is over 40,000 miles long, 90 percent of which is under the ocean. Called the Mid-Ocean Ridge, it wraps around the globe like the seams of a baseball.

• The longest aboveground mountain range is the Andes. Running along the entire west coast of South America through seven different countries — including Argentina, Chile, and Colombia — it’s 4,700 miles long.

• Mount Everest, on the border of Nepal and China in Asia, is the highest mountain above sea level in the world. Towering at 8,848m or 29,031ft.

• About 80 percent of our planet’s fresh water originates in the mountains.

• All mountain ecosystems have one major characteristic in common — rapid changes in altitude, climate, soil and vegetation over very short distances.

• The highest 14 mountains in the world are all in the Himalayas.

—Compiled from the internet

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 10th, 2022