MOUNTAIN

AVALANCHES

Avalanches are created by a slide of a top weak layer of snow collecting more snow as it slides down the mountain. Avalanches can be caused by several ways. One way are when weak layers of snow form when snow crystals cannot bond. The weak layers are below strong layers of snow causing a collapse. Avalanches tend to go in cycles and directions, usually following a path of the wind direction. In order to forecast an avalanche, one needs to measure temperature, wind conditions, snowfall and weather forecasts. The forecasts can tell you how risky an avalanche can be based on the “B” system rating.  Rescuing a person can be difficult since you do not know how when an avalanche will stop. When the avalanche does stop, snow and ice sets up like concrete. A “500” avalanche can last for four to five days long. Making rescue almost impossible for people buried by snow.

There are many different types of avalanches some are: Powder Avalanche: A mass of loosely packed snow that begins with a piece of falling rock or ice. The largest and most destructive is a powder avalanche. A piece of falling ice or rock starts a mass of loose snow sliding down the mountain.

Slab Avalanche: A mass of snow, ice and possibly other material caused when a large slab of snow breaks free from the layers beneath. A slab avalanche is most deadly. The weight of a skier is enough to break a slab away from the layers beneath.

GLACIERS

Easier - Glaciers are rivers of ice that move very slowly. They can take a year to move as far as you can walk in a few minutes. When a piece of a glacier breaks off and floats in the water, it's called an iceberg.   Harder - Glaciers form high in mountain valleys (valley glaciers) and in polar regions (continental glaciers) where the snow falls but never melts. The heavy snow crushes the layers below and forms a mountain of ice. As the glacier moves slowly down the mountain, it grinds against the ground and the walls of the valley to make it deep and wide. Glaciers cover about six million square miles which is about three percent of the earth's surface.

Most of the world's glacial ice is found in Antarctica and Greenland, but glaciers are found on nearly every continent, even Africa. Because certain climatic and geographic conditions must be present for glaciers to exist, they are most commonly found above snow line: regions of high snowfall in winter, and cool temperatures in summer. This condition allows more snow to accumulate on the glacier in the winter than will melt from it in the summer. This is why most glaciers are found either in mountainous areas or the polar regions. However, snow line occurs at different altitudes: in Washington State the snow line is around 1600 meters (or 5,500 feet), while in Africa it is over 5100 meters, and in Antarctica it is at sea level. The amount of snowfall a glacier can transform into ice is very important to its survival, which is why even a cold region like Siberia experiences almost no glaciation--there is not enough snowfall.

Where are glaciers located?

A rain shadow is a dry area on the mountainside facing away from the direction of the wind. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems, casting a "shadow" of dryness behind them.

MOUNTAIN RANGES IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan is home to many mountains above 7,000 meters (22,970 ft). Five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (peaks above 8,000 m) are in Pakistan, four of which are in Karakoram near Concordia.Most of the high peaks in Pakistan are in Karakoram range, the highest of which is K2 (8,611 m), the second highest peak on earth. The highest peak of Himalayan range in Pakistan is Nanga Parbat (8,126 m), which is the ninth highest peak of the world

MOUNTAINS FOR TOURISM

Tourism and Mountains

 Mountains can aid tourism and bring in money for the people who live there.More than 50 million people visit mountains each year.Many mountain towns around the world depend on tourists to support them. People in the town provide food and lodging for tourists who come to enjoy the nearby mountains.

Did you know?About 13 million people live in the Alps.

About 100 million visitors visit the Alps each year.