AY Honors/Mountains/Answer Key

1. Define the following terms:

a. Orology

The study of mountains.

b. Mountain

Highest point 1000 feet or more above base (U.S. definition); A natural elevation of the earth surface raising more or less abruptly from the surrounding level and attaining an altitude which, relatively to the adjacent elevation, is impressive or notable. (Oxford English Dictionary)

c. Mountain range

A chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes of valleys.

d. Magma

Molten rock beneath the surface of the earth.

e. Volcano

A vent in the surface of the earth through which magma and associated gases and ash erupt; also, the form of structure (usually conical) that is produced by the ejected material.

2. Tell three ways mountains have been formed.

Some mountains are produced by the movement of lithospheric plates several miles down deep in the earth. Compressional forces in continental collisions may cause the compressed region to thicken, so the upper surface is forced upwards. Some mountains are volcanoes while others are shaped by glacial processes.

Block mountains are formed when large areas are vertically displaced upwards by these compression forces deep in the earth, and remain in large chunks of rock or blocks.

Fold mountains occur when the uplifted top portions of earth fold over as the compression forces lift up sections of the earth.

Volcanoes are isolated mountains that were produced by molten rock being forced up through a vent in the surface of the earth. These mountains frequently have a cone shape.

Glacial mountains are shaped by the action of frozen glaciers that move down the sides of high rocky areas, scraping away softer rocks and carrying away loose rocky material.

3. Choose ten mountains, including 2 from near where you live, and tell what each ones name is, what its height is, where it is located, and what mountain range (if any) it is a part of. Try to choose mountains from as many different countries as possible.

Part of this requirement is dependent on where you live.

4. Match each description to its correct answer:

Description	Mountain
Underwater mountain range that goes around the world	Aconcagua
Highest mountains of each continent	Mt. Everest
Highest mountain in South America	Himalaya
Tallest mountain on earth	Mt. Mayon
Worlds longest mountain range	Ocean Ridge
Highest mountain in Japan	Damavand
Highest volcano in Asia	Mt. McKinley
Indians call it Denali, “The Great One”	Seven Summits
Mountain known for its “perfect cone”	Andes
Range with the highest mountains on earth	Mt. Fuji

5. List at least four mountains mentioned in the Bible and tell what important events took place there:

a. Ararat

Noah’s ark came to rest there. All humans and animals dispersed from Ararat after the flood Genesis 8:4

b. Mt. Carmel

Elijah offered sacrifices to God in front of King Ahab’s prophets of Baal on this mountain. 1 Kings 18:20

According to the Books of Kings, Elisha traveled to Carmel straight after cursing a group of young men because they had mocked him and the ascension of Elijah by jeering, "Go on up, bald man!" After this, bears came out of the forest and killed 42 of them. This does not necessarily imply that Elisha had sought asylum there from any potential backlash, although the description in the Book of Amos, of the location being a refuge, is dated by textual scholars to be earlier than the accounts of Elisha in the Book of Kings,[11][12] and according to Strabo it had continued to be a place of refuge until at least the first century.

According to Epiphanius, and Josephus, Mount Carmel had been the stronghold of the Essenes that came from a place in Galilee named Nazareth; though this Essene group are sometimes consequently referred to as Nazareans, they are not to be confused with the "Nazarene" sect, which followed the teachings of Jesus, but associated with the Pharisees. Members of the modern American groups claiming to be Essenes, but viewed by scholars as having no ties to the historical group,[16] treat Mount Carmel as having great religious significance on account of the protection it afforded to the historic Essene group.

During World War I, Mount Carmel played a significant strategic role. The (20th century) Battle of Megiddo took place at the head of a pass through the Carmel Ridge, which overlooks the Valley of Jezreel from the south. General Allenby led the British in the battle, which was the turning point in the war against the Ottoman Empire. The Jezreel Valley had played host to many battles before, including the very historically significant Battle of Megiddo between the Egyptians and Canaanites, but it was only in the 20th century battle that the Carmel Ridge itself played a significant part, due to the developments in munitions.

In ancient Canaanite culture, high places were frequently considered to be sacred, and Mount Carmel appears to have been no exception; Thutmose III lists a holy headland among his Canaanite territories, and if this equates to Carmel, as Egyptologists such as Maspero believe, then it would indicate that the mountain headland was considered sacred from at least the 15th century BC.[1] According to the Books of Kings, there was an altar to God on the mountain, which had fallen into ruin by the time of Ahab, but Elijah built a new one.[17] Iamblichus describes Pythagoras visiting the mountain on account of its reputation for sacredness, stating that it was the most holy of all mountains, and access was forbidden to many, while Tacitus states that there was an oracle situated there, which Vespasian visited for a consultation;[2] Tacitus states that there was an altar there,[1] but without any image upon it,[1][2] and without a temple around it.[2]

The Grotto of Elijah In mainstream Jewish, Christian, and Islamic[1] thought, Elijah is indelibly associated with the mountain, and he is regarded as having sometimes resided in a grotto on the mountain. Indeed, one name for Mount Carmel is جبل مار إلياس Jabal Mar Elyas Mount Saint Elias. In the Books of Kings, Elijah challenges 450 prophets of a particular Baal to a contest at the altar on Mount Carmel to determine whose deity was genuinely in control of the Kingdom of Israel; since the narrative is set during the rule of Ahab and his association with the Phoenicians, biblical scholars suspect that the Baal in question was probably Melqart.

According to the Bible in 1 Kings 18, the challenge was to see which deity could light a sacrifice by fire. After the prophets of Baal had failed to achieve this, Elijah had water poured on his sacrifice to saturate the altar and then he prayed; fire fell and consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, soil, and water which prompted the Israelite witnesses to proclaim, "The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!". In the account, Elijah announced the end to a long drought; clouds gathered, the sky turned black, and it rained heavily.

Though there is no biblical reason to assume that the account of Elijah's victory refers to any particular part of Mount Carmel, Islamic tradition places it at a point known as El-Maharrakah, meaning the burning.

c. Sinai

God gave the ten commandments to Moses on this mountain. Exodus 19: 23 – 20: 3-17

d. Mt. Nebo

Moses died there. Deuteronomy 32: 48-50

7. Choose one of the following verses about mountains and recite it:

a. Psalm 90:2

Before the mountains were brought forth,

Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,

Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
— Psalm 90:2 (NKJV)

b. Isaiah 52:7

How beautiful upon the mountains

Are the feet of him who brings good news,
Who proclaims peace,
Who brings glad tidings of good things,
Who proclaims salvation,
Who says to Zion,

“Your God reigns!”
— Isaiah 52:7 (NKJV)

c. Isaiah 55:12

“For you shall go out with joy,

And be led out with peace;
The mountains and the hills
Shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
— Isaiah 55:12 (NKJV)