At 19,336 feet high, Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world and the highest peak in Africa. Traveling up the mountain, a hiker would experience a vast change in climate. In the foothills, there exist warm, montane cloud forests due to consistent cloud cover. Above the forest, the moorland zone is populated by giant heather. Only lichens and mosses will grow in the alpine desert, which is just below the snowy, icy peak.
Mount St. Helens is most famous for its volcanic eruption that destroyed 230 square miles of forest in 1980. The eruption was started by an earthquake, which caused the north face to collapse and release pressurized gases within the volcano that subsequently exploded. The avalanche and explosion immediately destroyed 150 square miles of forest and covered a vast area with ash. Congress and the president created the National Volcanic Monument in 1982, deciding that the 110,000-acre area would be free from human intervention and would be allowed to respond naturally to the destruction.
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on the planet. It is the main peak of the Himalayan mountain range and has an altitude of 29,028 feet. The first to reach the summit were Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Between Everest's numerous cliffs and ridges lie 548 continental glaciers and an 100,000-square-kilometer area of alpine glaciers. The mountain is surrounded by many peaks, at least four of them standing more than 22,965 feet. Over the years, mountaineers have formed 11 different routes for traversing the mountain.
This mountain is part of the Karakorum Mountains and is so remote that it was not known by name; therefore, it was given a surveyor's designation based on the assumption that it was the second highest peak in the Karakorum range. Located on the border between Pakistan and China, K2 has 65 miles of rugged terrain separating it from the nearest village. Since the first summit in 1954, a total of 246 climbers have summited the mountain and at least 55 have died in the attempt.
