Editing Mountain range (section)

{{Short description|Geographic area containing several geologically related mountains}}
{{For|financial options|Exotic option{{!}}Mountain range (options)}}

[[File:Apollo 9 image of the Namcha Barwa Himal range, AS09-23-3511.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The [[Namcha Barwa Himal]], east part of the [[Himalayas]] as seen from space by [[Apollo 9]]]]

A '''mountain range''' or '''hill range''' is a series of [[mountain]]s or [[hill]]s arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A '''mountain system''' or '''mountain belt''' is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an [[orogeny]].<ref>{{cite web |url = https://www.mindat.org/glossary/mountain_system |title = Definition of mountain system |website = Mindat.org |publisher=Hudson Institute of Mineralogy |access-date = 26 August 2017 }}</ref> Mountain ranges are formed by a variety of geological processes, but most of the significant ones on Earth are the result of [[plate tectonics]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hammond |first=Allen L. |date=1971-07-09 |title=Plate Tectonics (II): Mountain Building and Continental Geology |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.173.3992.133 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=173 |issue=3992 |pages=133–134 |doi=10.1126/science.173.3992.133 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Mountain ranges are also found on many planetary mass objects in the [[Solar System]] and are likely a feature of most [[terrestrial planet]]s.

Mountain ranges are usually segmented by [[highland]]s or [[mountain pass]]es and [[valley]]s. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same [[Structural geology|geologic structure]] or [[petrology]]. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and [[terrane]]s, for example [[Thrust fault|thrust sheets]], [[Fault-block mountain|uplifted blocks]], [[Fold (geology)|fold]] mountains, and [[volcanic]] landforms resulting in a variety of [[lithology|rock types]].