A mountain range is a group of mountains and massifs located close together usually in a line. Mountain ranges are found throughout the world and are mostly formed because of tectonic activity. Let’s take a look at the major mountain ranges in the world and some interesting facts about them.
Major mountain ranges in the world
The Himalayas
Countries
Top 3 highest peaks
Length
India, Nepal, China, Bhutan, Pakistan
Mount Everest (8,848.86 meters), Kanchenjunga (8,586 meters), Lhotse (8,516 meters)
2,400 km
The Himalayas are perhaps the most famous of all mountain ranges. These mountains were formed when the Indian tectonic plate collided with the Eurasian plate.
The Himalayan mountain range is home to the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest (8,848.86 m).
It is one of the youngest mountain ranges in the world.
Western Ghat is the second-highest mountain range in India. It runs along the western coast of India for about 1600 kilometers.
A biodiversity hotspot, the western ghats provide safe haven to many threatened species like the Indian elephant, Nilgiri Tahr, Indian leopard, Nilgiri marten, etc.
Ural mountains/Urals
Country
Top 3 highest peaks
Length
Russia and Kazakhstan
Mount Narodnaya (1,894 meters), Mount Karpinsky (1,878 meters), Mount Yamantau (1,640 meters)
2500 km
Urals
Though not very high, the Urals are a long chain of mountains that stretch for 2,500 kilometers.
A major portion of the Urals act as the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.
Ural mountains stretch from the Arctic Ocean in the North to the northwestern regions of Kazakhstan crossing the Ural river.