It is difficult to come across a universally accepted definition of a mountain; with some definitions stressing on the elevation and some stressing on the gradient of slope as the main factor which has to be taken into consideration. While none is perfect, a near-perfect definition of mountain would be 'a huge landform projecting well above the surrounding area and typically characterized by the presence of a peak. Even though a hill is a similar landform, the two are distinguished from each other on the basis of gradient - with a mountain being steeper of the two.


As with the definition, even the classification of mountains is an issue of debate - with experts finding it difficult to come up with a proper method of classifying them. Of the currently used methods of classification, one of the apt methods is to classify mountains into various types on the basis of the geological process involved in their formation. Simply put, classification of mountains depending on how they are formed (see how are mountains formed). Going by this method of classification, mountains can be classified into four different types i.e. the fold mountains, fault-block mountains, volcanic mountains and dome mountains - each of which are discussed with examples below.

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There are so many things around us that have always been there, we know that they exist and therefore we never actually give a serious thought on their details. An example for the same would be, thinking that 'is pumpkin a fruit or a vegetable'? Though the classification of pumpkin, as to whether it is a fruit or a vegetable, won't actually affect its usage, but then the human mind is always curious to classify things into categories for better understanding, right? So where does the place of the 'pumpkin' lie? Does it come under the category of a fruit, or is it a vegetable? Well, it is a fruit, but then you can also call it a vegetable if you don't want to be all technical about it! Confused? Well, in order to clear the confusion, we will first have to understand what exactly is a fruit and what is the definition of a vegetable? So let us begin to understand that first.

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