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Articles on Mountains

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Altitude sickness is rare at elevations of less than 8,200 feet but becomes much more common at higher altitudes. Maya Karkalicheva/Moment via Getty Images

Altitude sickness is typically mild but can sometimes turn very serious − a high-altitude medicine physician explains how to safely prepare

Whether you’re ascending to high altitudes for casual travel or for adventure tourism, there are specific strategies to help you acclimate and reduce the likelihood of altitude sickness.
Rocky Mountain fires leave telltale ash layers in nearby lakes like this one. Philip Higuera

What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West

As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?
Fires are increasing in high mountain areas that rarely burned in the past. John McColgan, Bureau of Land Management, Alaska Fire Service

Fire danger in the high mountains is intensifying: That’s bad news for humans, treacherous for the environment

Fires here can affect meltwater timing and water quality, worsen erosion that triggers mudslides, and much more, as two scientists explain.
Following historic drought in 2021, reservoir levels dropped down in the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, which gets its waters from the melting snowpack from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. (pxhere.com)

Scientists dig deep and find a way to accurately predict snowmelt after droughts

Unprecedented droughts leave the subsurface drier than usual, affecting water supply in subsequent years.
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress in the province of L'Aquila in Italy. It bears witness to the long relationship between humanity and mountains, and how natural landscapes are also culture ones. UNESCO

Earth’s cathedrals: Europe’s mountains are cultural heritage, not just natural heritage

Often thought of as eternal, mountains are vulnerable to climate change and tourism. To protect them, they should be recognised for their cultural values, not just their natural characteristics.
This is an enhanced satellite image of Western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. Yellow sand dunes cover the upper right, red splotches indicate burned areas, and other colours show different types of surface geology. USGS/Unsplash

These stunning satellite images look like abstract art – and they reveal much about our planet

The United States Geological Survey has a vast collection of satellite images capturing breathtaking geological features of our planet. As a geologist, I’ve picked eight of the most fascinating.

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