Mountain Field Guide

Israel’s mountains may not reach the extreme elevations of the Himalayas or Caucasus, but they form an exceptionally varied landscape. Within a relatively small area, forested limestone summits, volcanic plateaus, desert escarpments, deeply eroded craters, and rugged granite peaks rise above valleys, coastal plains, and the shores of the Dead Sea. The green mountains of …

Iraq is often pictured as a country of broad deserts, ancient river plains, and historic cities. Yet its northern and northeastern regions contain a very different landscape: steep limestone ridges, snow-covered summits, deep gorges, forested valleys, and remote mountain villages. Most of Iraq’s highest mountains rise within the Kurdistan Region, where the Zagros mountain system …

Iran is one of the most mountainous countries in Western Asia. Great ranges surround much of the Iranian Plateau, creating a landscape of snow-covered summits, folded limestone ridges, volcanic cones, forested slopes, high pastures, deep gorges, and desert-facing escarpments. The Alborz Mountains rise across northern Iran, forming a dramatic barrier between the Caspian Sea and …

Indonesia is one of the most mountainous and volcanically active countries on Earth. Spread across thousands of islands between mainland Asia and Australia, the country contains equatorial alpine peaks, active stratovolcanoes, immense calderas, crater lakes, tropical cloud forests, high grasslands, and some of the most culturally significant mountains in Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s highest mountains rise …

Georgia is a small country with an exceptionally mountainous landscape. Positioned between the Black Sea and the high crest of the Caucasus, it contains glacier-covered summits, volcanic plateaus, deep river gorges, alpine grasslands, forested ridges, and isolated villages where distinctive mountain cultures have survived for centuries. The country’s highest mountains rise along the Greater Caucasus …

China contains one of the largest, highest, and most varied mountain landscapes on Earth. Its territory extends from the summit of Mount Everest and the frozen peaks of the Karakoram to the forested mountains of Sichuan, the granite towers of Huangshan, and the sacred summits that have influenced Chinese culture for thousands of years. The …