A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill, but there is no universally accepted standard definition for the height of a mountain or a hill although a mountain usually has an identifiable summit. Mountains cover 54% of Asia, 36% of North America, 25% of Europe, 22% of South America, 17% of Australia, and 3% of Africa. As a whole, 24% of the Earth's land mass is mountainous. 10% of people live in mountainous regions. Most of the world's rivers are fed from mountain sources, and more than half of humanity depends on mountains for water.
The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them.
"Mountains" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade, the soundtrack to the movie Under the Cherry Moon. It was written by Revolution members Wendy and Lisa together with Prince, and was one of Prince's relatively unsuccessful singles of the 1980s, though is considered one of his most underrated by many fans. The extended 12" single version of the song, running ten minutes, is a fan favorite. It's the only track on the Parade album featuring the entire Revolution.
It reached #23 in the U.S. but only #48 in the UK. The B-side was the instrumental "Alexa de Paris", one of the few tracks from this project featuring a guitar solo and is one of a handful of instrumental tracks that Prince recorded in the '80s. Both songs appear in the film Under the Cherry Moon, with the video for "Mountains" playing as the credits roll. The version shown on MTV to promote the single was in color as opposed to the film's black and white version.
The lyrics of the track are made to represent a person's spiritual stuggle with believing that in the end "love will conquer."
Mountain climate (also highland climate) is a crude geographical term used for the kind of climate in the mountains and generally in the high country. It is often contrasted to the climate of the lowland area surrounding or near the same mountains.
The areas of mountain climate generally have colder winters and milder summers. Due to higher elevation, the temperature is by and large lower, the main form of precipitation is snow, often accompanied by stronger winds. At the same time, due to increased insolation, there is more sunlight during the winter.
Under the Köppen climate classification scheme, areas described as having a mountain climate can fit under Alpine climate, or under Hemiboreal climate, but also Semi-arid climates.
The Cascade Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, the Andes, the Himalayas, the Tibetan Highlands (or Plateau), the Eastern Highlands of Africa, and the central parts of Borneo and New Guinea are important highland climates.
The mountain climate in the Andes is particularly known for the notion of four zones of elevation:
