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About the
website
John Osaki's Blog
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Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. |
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Eons in the making, the great mountains of the world were raised by a series of complex and powerful volcanic and tectonic movements. These have resulted in a diversity of mountain landscapes that shelter a wealth of natural treasures and nurture rich cultures. The special joys of the mountains are available not only to mountaineers, but to anyone—stroller, walker, or hiker—willing to lace up a pair of hiking boots and follow a winding path. Mountain glories await you! Come share them with us! |
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| Europe | |||
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The Alps are the backbone of Europe and its principal and best-known mountain range. No peak in the Alps stands higher than Mont Blanc whose summit brushes the heavens at 15,772 feet. Thrust upward as result of a series of collisions between African and European plates, the Alps continue to grow today. They fan out in a great 750 mile-long arc around Italy's Po River basin encompassing a multitude of ranges, each with its own character—from the Maritime Alps on the French-Italian border, to the rugged grandeur of Switzerland's glacier-draped Berner Oberland, to the distinctive limestone spires and pinnacles of the Italian Dolomites. The range is named after the high mountain pastures known as alp in German. In turn, the range has lent its name to the adjective "alpine"—the general term used to describe high mountain environments anywhere in the world. | ||
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Formed during the closure of an ancient sea, the Carpathian Mountains are essentially a continuation of the Alps although they are, in general, not as high or rugged. The great Danube River which drains much of central Europe separates the Alps from the Carpathians. The Carpathians run eastward for 900 miles along the Polish-Slovak border continuing into Ukraine and Romania where they abruptly hook back toward the west as the Carpatii Meridionali, or Transylvanian Alps. The High Tatras on the Polish-Slovak border constitute the highest and most rugged portion of the Carpathians. The highest point in the Carpathians, Gerlachovský Stít, scrapes the Tatra sky at 8,711 feet. | ||
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The Carpathian Mountains meet the Rhodope Mountains at a place called the Iron Gates of Orsova. Here, the Danube River cuts through the mountain barrier before making its final run to the Black Sea. The Rhodopes, an extension of the Carpathians, swing southward and then eastward along Bulgaria's border with Greece. They are part of the great mountainous uplift that covers much of the Balkan Peninsula. The Rila and Pirin ranges contain the Rhodope's most impressive high mountain landscapes, reminiscent of the Sierra Nevada or the Wallowas of northeastern Oregon. Musala in the Rila range rises above conifer-clad foothills to the roof of the Rhodopes at 9,597 feet. Large portions of the Rila and Pirin ranges are protected in national parks. The Pirin National Park is a World Heritage Site containing the Baevi Doupki-Djindjiritza Biosphere Reserve. | ||
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The rocky range known as Kjølen ("the keel") forms the spine of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Part of the Caledonian Mountain Group (which includes the Scottish Highlands), Kjølen includes the mountainous uplift known as Langfjellene ("Long Mountains"). Norway's spectacular glacier-carved fjords (including the Sognefjord—one of the world's longest) slice deeply into the Langfjellene to create the filigreed coastline of western Norway. The peak of Galdhopiggen (8,100 feet) in the Jotunheimen range of the Langfjellene is the crown of northern Europe. | ||
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Stretching about 270 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, the Pyrenees form a natural barrier between France and Spain. The central portion of the range is wild and rugged with grand glacial cirques and high lake basins on the French side. In Spain, Monte Perdido, the highest limestone peak in Europe, soars to 11,008 feet, and the spectacular limestone canyon of Ordesa slices into the heart of the mountains. A significant portion of the central Pyrenees has been recognized as a World Heritage Site. Further east, Spain's Pico de Aneto reaches a Pyrenees high point at 11,168 feet. | ||
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The Cantabrian Mountains (the Cordillera Cantabrica) stretch for 300 miles along the northern coast of Spain. At their eastern end they merge gracefully with the Pyrenees. The most spectacular portion of the Cantabrians is the group of bulky limestone peaks known as the Picos de Europa much of which is protected in the newly expanded Picos de Europa National Park. The Torre de Cerredo in the Urrieles massif of the Picos de Europa is the highest point in the Cantabrian Range at 8,688 feet. | ||
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The Pindhos Mountains (also spelled Pindos or Pindus) comprise the mountainous "spine of Greece" stretching 160 kilometers from southern Albania through the Grecian mainland to the Gulf of Corinth at the northern edge of the Peloponnese. The range separates the regions of Epirus (to the west) and Thessaly (to the east). The range reaches its high point at 8,652 foot tall Mount Smolikas. Composed largely of limestone, the landscapes of the Pindhos Mountains range from deep gorges and canyons (like the Vikos Gorge) to alpine meadows and craggy peaks. Lower elevations are cloaked in deciduous woodlands while coniferous woods featuring endemic species such as the Bulgarian fir (Abies borisii-regis) dominate the higher elevations. Two national parks—the Vikos-Aoos National Park and the Pindus National Park—protect the core of these mountains. | ||
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| Perhaps Greece's best known mountain is Mount Olympus (Oros Olimbos), a ten-mile-long range of peaks at the eastern edges of the Plains of Thessaly. Olympus is bordered to the east by the Aegean Sea whose shores sparkle only eleven miles from its summit. Olympus is the highest mountain range in Greece, and there are at least 46 peaks in the range that rise to an elevation of at least 2,000 meters (6,562 feet). The four highest peaks on Olympus are Mytikas (the highest at 9,571 feet), Skolio (at 9,551 feet), Stefani (at 9,544 feet and also known as the "throne of Zeus"), and Skala (at 9,403 feet). In mythology Mount Olympus was regarded as the home of the twelve principal gods of the ancient Greeks. Today, the area is protected in a national park. | |||
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The Azores along with the Madeira, Canary and Cabo Verde Islands are volcanic archipelagos that comprise the island region known as Macaronesia ("blessed islands"). The islands are the highest summits of great submarine mountain ranges that include the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the world's longest mountain range. Broad calderas, cone-shaped volcanoes, and plunging sea cliffs are typical of the Macaronesian landscape. Madeira and the Azores belong to Portugal; in fact the highest mountain in Portugal is the Azorean stratovolcano, Pico (7,714 feet). These subtropical islands boast a wealth of endemic plant species as well as remnants of a forest type that covered much of southern Europe in the Tertiary age. | ||
| Asia | |||
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Yan Mountains, China.
The Yan Mountains (or Yān Shān in Chinese) rise
to the north of the North China Plain in northern Hebei Province. The
mountains stretch for about 200 miles from the Chaobai River on the west to the Bohai Sea
on the east. Beijing lies to the south of the range. The range reaches its highest point at Mount Wuling which rises
to almost 7,000 feet above sea level and serves as the centerpiece of the
Mount Wuling Nature Reserve. The eastern portions of the
Great Wall of China
traverse the Yan Shan and provide hikers with a great avenue for exploring
the limestone, basalt and granite peaks of this lesser known Chinese
mountain range. |
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Fumaroles, Asahidake.
Niseko Annupuri.
Summit, Meakandake.
Mashu-ko. |
Hokkaido's Mountain
Ranges. Hokkaido is Japan's northernmost island accounting for
about twenty percent of the landmass of the Japanese archipelago. With the
exception of the tectonically uplifted Yubari and Hidaka Ranges, Hokkaido's
mountains are the result of volcanic activity—not surprising since the
entire island sits atop the Pacific "Ring of Fire." The
Ishikari Mountains, composed of the
Daisetsuzan and Tomuraushi Volcanic Groups, are Hokkaido's highest and most
extensive mountain range. The range is dominated by the two-kilometer-wide Ohachi-daira
caldera and the volcano Asahidake which is Hokkaido's highest
peak rising to an elevation of 7,516 feet. This mountain group is known for
its fine displays of alpine wildflowers like those which blanket the slopes
of Midoridake in spring. Other important volcanic ranges on Hokkaido
include the Niseko Volcanic Group (Niseko-kazangun)
lying forty miles to the southwest of Sapporo and protected in Shikotsu-Toya
National Park. These highlands are composed
of ancient stratovolcanoes and lava domes which last erupted seven thousand
years ago. Here is a mountain landscape which some have called the "St.
Moritz of the East." About eighty miles to the east of the Daisetsuzan lies
the Akan Volcanic Complex in Akan
National Park. The complex includes
the active Meakan-dake volcano. Nearby are the large and scenic caldera
lakes of Kussharo and Mashu. About seventy miles to the northeast on the
Shiretoko Peninsula (Shiretoko-hanto),
a line of volcanic peaks juts for about forty miles into the Sea of Okhotsk.
This line of mountains along with the neighboring Kuril Islands is part of
the Chishima island arc. The Shiretoko Peninsula is one of the most pristine
natural areas in Japan and is a designated national park and World Heritage
Site. Though they may not be as high as some of the ranges on Japan's main
island of Honshu, Hokkaido's mountain ranges offer hikers some of the best
volcanic mountain landscapes in the world! |
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Turkey.
Turkey is a richly mountainous land. The Pontic Mountains to the north and
the Taurus Mountains to the south enclose the high Anatolian Plateau at the
country's center. Turkey sits atop a tectonically active zone at the
intersection of three continental plates. A chain of snow-capped volcanoes including the
12,850-foot-tall Mount Erciyes (Erciyes Dağı) and the 13,780-foot-tall stratovolcano known as Mount Ararat (Ağrı Dağı)
punctuate the Anatolian landscape. The
Pontic Mountains (sometimes called the Pontic Alps or Doğu
Karadeniz Dağları in Turkish) stretch along northern Turkey's Black Sea
coast. The Pontic Mountains reach their apex at the peak of Kaçkar Dağı (12,930
feet), the centerpiece of the Kaçkar Mountains which lie at the eastern end
of the Pontic range between the Black Sea to the north and the Coruh
River valley to the south. The Kaçkar Mountains are rugged and glaciated with
a true alpine character. High country lakes, flowering alpine meadows and
craggy peaks have led some to call the Kaçkars Turkey's most beautiful
mountains. Verdant hardwood forests of chestnut, hornbeam and beech along
with tea plantations and fruit orchards cloak the foothills of the Kaçkars. In the south
of the country, the Taurus Mountains (Toros Dağları) are
actually an extensive complex of four mountain ranges that separate
Mediterranean Turkey from Anatolia. Drier than the Pontic Mountains, the
Taurus Mountains nevertheless shelter the headwaters of both the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers, the storied waterways of Mesopotamia. |
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| South America | |||
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Patagonian Andes.
Patagonia is a geographic region encompassing
the southernmost portion of the South American continent and is shared by Chile
and Argentina. The mountainous spine of the Patagonian Andes, the southern
extent of the Andes
Mountains, stretch for about 1,300 miles in the western portion of the region.
To the west, Chilean Patagonia is mountainous with
extensive forests, large lakes, fjords, and a damp, maritime climate. Argentine Patagonia, by contrast, consists largely of
broad, semi-arid steppes that extend from the Atlantic coast eastward for
about 300 kilometers where they meet the abruptly rising peaks of the
Patagonian Andes. The highest peak in the Patagonian
Andes is Volcan Domuyo rising to an elevation of 15,450 feet in the northern
part of the range in Argentina's Neuquen province. The southern Patagonian
Andes is capped by Monte San Valentin, a remote ice-clad peak in Chile's
Aisén region which rises to an elevation of 13,314 feet (although some
claims place the peak's elevation several hundred feet lower). |
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| The northern portion of the Patagonian Andes (between roughly 37 and 42 degrees south latitude) is comprised of the regions known as Araucania and the Region de los Lagos (Lake District). Largely reminiscent of the Pacific Northwest, snow-capped volcanoes (some still active), large lakes, rushing streams and dense forests of southern beech characterize this area. | |||
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| Between roughly 42 and 46 degrees south latitude is a wild, sparsely settled region whose western coastline is a twisted maze of channels, islands, and fjords similar to southeast Alaska. Wild rivers like the Futaleufu tumble to the sea and remote volcanoes occasionally erupt as did Volcán Chaitén in 2008 and Volcán Hudson in 1991. | |||
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| In Southern Patagonia (south of 46 degrees) the Andes increase in average elevation and craggy peaks begin to replace snowcapped volcanic cones. The Patagonian icecap composed of the (Campo de Hielo Norte and the Campo de Hielo Sur) dominates the mountains and forms the largest expanse of ice outside the polar regions. Giant glaciers spill into vast, turquoise-colored lakes, and the iconic granite spires of Patagonia—Cerro Torre, Monte Fitzroy and the Torres del Paine—pierce the southern skies. The weather in this region can be notoriously inclement, but despite this reality the region is a paradise for hikers. | |||
A view of Cerro Vinciguerra in the wild, rugged heart of the Fuegian Andes. |
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| Further south on the island of Tierra del Fuego, the Fuegian Andes rise in the jumble of ice-clad peaks known as the Cordillera Darwin. Broad, glacially-carved valleys penetrate the range which offers some of the wildest and challenging trekking opportunities in the Andes. The Fuegian Andes reach their high point at Mount Darwin which rises to an elevation of 8,163 feet in Chilean Tierra del Fuego. Across the waters of the Beagle Channel, the wild, untrammeled mountain landscapes on virtually uninhabited Isla Hoste call to only the most adventurous. | |||
| Australia | |||
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The
Australian Alps
comprise the highest portion of eastern Australia's continent-long Great
Dividing Range—a complex of mountain ranges that extends for 1,900 miles
from the Grampians in western Victoria state to Queensland in the north.
Though the
Australian Alps lack the jagged summits, height and steep slopes of their
European namesake they are a notable topographic exclamation mark for
Australia, a relatively flat and low-lying continent.
The highest portion of the Australian Alps center around the granite summits of the Main Range, part of the Snowy Mountains protected within the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales. Here, mainland Australia's only glacially-carved cirques and alpine tarns can be found. The rounded forms and rock-strewn summits of Kosciuszko National Park recall the peaks of the White Mountains of New Hampshire or those of Connemara in western Ireland. The centerpiece of Kosciuszko National Park is 7,310-foot-tall Mount Kosciuszko, the tallest peak on the Australian continent. The peak was named by Polish explorer Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840 after the mountain's resemblance to the Kosciuszko Mound in Krakow, Poland—a monument constructed to commemorate the accomplishments of Polish patriot Tadeusz Kosciuszko who served as a general in the the Continental Army during the American Revolution. |
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Unlike the granitic Main Range, the
Victorian Alps of Victoria state are
largely composed of sedimentary rocks. Long ridges with interlocking spurs
and rolling high plateaus are characteristic of the Victorian Alps. A
notable feature of these mountains are the Bogong High Plains, a high
elevation plateau formed by ancient basalt flows and covered by alpine
herbfields and tussock grasslands. A trio of national parks— Namadgi, Kosciuszko and Alpine—provide protection to a significant portion of the Australian Alps. |
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All images on this page
are by John Osaki |
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© Mountain
Hiking Holidays, Inc. |
Volcan Villarica rises over Lago Villarica,
Chile.
