Photo Gallery: Mountains

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Indonesia Mountains

Photograph by Sisse Brimberg and Cotton Coulson

A towering trail of steam and smoke issues from Mount Semeru in the distance while gaping Mount Bromo (middle left) quietly simmers in East Java, Indonesia. The Indonesian government estimates that during the last 400 years, 129 of the country's volcanoes have become active.

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Mont Blanc

Photograph by George Mobley

The snow-mantled rock face of the colossal Mont Blanc Massif, located between France and Italy, dwarfs a pale twilight moonrise in the background. At 15,771 feet (4,807 meters), Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps and a frequent point of contention between the two countries. Each alternately claims it as its own.

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Nanga Parbat Summit

Photograph by Ed Darack

Clouds encircle the summit of Nanga Parbat, a steep-walled mountain in the western Himalaya. At 26,660 feet (8,126 meters) high, Nanga Parbat, which means "naked mountain" in Sanskrit, is the ninth-highest mountain in the world.

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Climbers at K2

Photograph by Galen Rowell

Second only to Mount Everest in height, K2 attracts hordes of climbers intent on conquering the 28,251-foot (8,611-meter) peak in the Himalaya. Also called Mount Godwin Austen, Dapsang, and Chogori, K2 is part of the Himalaya's Karakoram Range.

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Mount Everest and Himalaya

Photograph by Tim Laman

A rising sun illuminates the snow-shrouded peak of Mount Everest. Everest's summit, at 29,035 feet (8,850 meters), is the highest point on Earth. Thirty of the world's highest mountains are in the Himalaya range.

Mount Whitney, California

Photograph by Galen Rowell

At 14,494 feet (4,418 meters) above sea level, California's Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the lower 48 states. Whitney is part of the Sierra Nevada, a fault-block mountain range formed when shifting tectonic plates led to the cracking and faulting of the Earth's surface.

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Ben Nevis, Scotland

Photograph by Joel Sartore

Overcast skies and mossy peaks overlook a lone hiker on Scotland's Ben Nevis mountain trail. Made up of ancient schist plated with volcanic rock, Ben Nevis is the highest mountain of the British Isles, at 4,406 feet (1,343 meters).