A cloud of snow blows from the summit of Mount Everest.
No peak in the world has received as much attention as Mount Everest, the
highest point on Earth.
Part of the Himalaya mountain chain, Everest soars 29,028 feet (8,848 meters) above Nepal and the Tibet region of China. Nepalis call it Sagarmatha, and Tibetans call it Chomolungma—both names mean "mother of the universe." Westerners call it Everest, after Sir George Everest, a British surveyor-general.
Everest and the rest of the Himalaya are relatively new mountains. They formed about 50 million years ago when a huge island slammed into mainland Asia, creating the Indian subcontinent and pushing the Himalaya skyward.
Within the sharp peaks and ridges of the mountains, a variety of plants and animals thrive, including snow leopards, black bears, marmots, and lesser pandas.
Not many people live on the remote mountainsides. Some of the few are the hardy Sherpas, many of whom take jobs as porters for Everest climbers. Sherapas have made their home in Nepal's Khumbu region for about 500 years.
But it's Everest that tourists come to see. The yearly flood of visitors and climbers has led to problems with deforestation, overgrazing, and garbage.
Other mountain chains ripple across Asia, providing shelter and sustenance. In Krygyzstan and China, the Tian Shan, or "celestial mountains," have steep, jagged peaks and clinging glaciers. The Hindu Kush mountain chain runs 500 miles (800 kilometers) through Central Asia. And Russia's Ural Mountains, which run about 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers) north to south, form the boundary between Europe and Asia.
In India the Western Ghats run for almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) along the southwestern coast. The Ghats absorb monsoon rains and provide rich habitat for countless animals, including 23 mammal species found only here.
Sadly, much of the Western Ghats' slopes have been cleared to grow tea and coffee plants, cashew trees, and cardamom plants. Irrigation and hydroelectric projects have left their mark on the Ghats as well, though none as much as the iron-ore industry. What was once 62,000 square miles (161,000 square kilometers) of forest is now less than 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometers).
