Wildlife
Mountains are in general a much tougher place to life than equivalent lowland habitats, partly due to the lower temperatures and harsher weather. At very high altitudes there is also less oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air, making life difficult for both animals and plants. Soils are thin or non-existent on steep mountain slopes, which restricts the types of plants that can grow. The uppermost slopes of the tallest mountains may be completely barren of plant-life.
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Lake Rankul
Plants are adapted to the desert-like conditions of high altitude lakes.
Plants are adapted to the desert-like conditions of high altitude lakes.
Wild tulips
Wild tulips are among the first to bloom after the snowmelt.
Wild tulips are among the first to bloom after the snowmelt.
Beautiful Himalayas
Timelapse photography makes the Himalayas come alive.
Timelapse photography makes the Himalayas come alive.
The high life
The forested valleys of the Himalayas require special adaptations.
The forested valleys of the Himalayas require special adaptations.
Mountain camels
Guanacos and vicunas have to cope with the extreme cold of the Andes.
Guanacos and vicunas have to cope with the extreme cold of the Andes.
Grey-faced sengi
Horseshoe bats
Asian golden cat
Brown bear
Clouded leopard
Coyote
Ethiopian wolf
Eurasian lynx
Snow leopard
Tibetan fox
Wolverine
Argali sheep
Bharal
Bighorn sheep
Dall sheep
Guanaco
Markhor
Nubian ibex
Walia ibex
Mountain hare
Plateau pika
Barbary macaque
Gelada baboon
Golden snub-nosed monkey
Human
Japanese macaque
Yunnan snub-nosed monkey
Arctic ground squirrel
Brown rat
Himalayan marmot
Bar-headed goose
Andean condor
Golden eagle
Lammergeier
Ptarmigan
Great grey owl
Kea
Raven
Red-billed chough
Andean hillstar
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them. The study of mountains is called orography. Exogeology deals with planetary mountains, which in that branch of science are usually called montes (singular—mons). The highest mountain on Earth based from sea level is Mount Everest (8,848 m (29,029 ft)) in the Himalayas of Asia. The highest known mountain in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on the planet Mars at 21,171 m (69,459 ft). Mountains and mountain ranges on Earth are typically formed by the movement and/or interaction of lithospheric plates.
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Other Terrestrial habitats
Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.
Timelapse photography: speeding up life
Some of the most memorable sequences in natural history result from timelapse photography, an astonishing filming technique that opens our eyes to a whole new world.
This is Planet Earth
With Planet Earth Live hitting our screens, what better way to marvel at the wonders of nature than watching a fantastic collection of video highlights from the original Planet Earth series.
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Conifers 
Grasses and sedges 
Great Basin bristlecone pine 
Orchids 
Snowdon lily 
Monocled cobra
Tibetan spring snake
Panamanian golden frog
Venezuela pebble toad
Buff-tailed bumblebee
Himalayan jumping spider