snow-on-the-mountain: see spurge.

mountain sheep: see bighorn.

mountain men, fur trappers and traders in the Rocky Mts. during the 1820s and 30s. Their activities opened that region of the United States to general knowledge. Since the days of French domination there had been expeditions to the upper Missouri River, and in the early 19th cent. there were several expeditions to and through the mountain country, notably the Lewis and Clark expedition, the land voyage to Astoria and the return voyage under Robert Stuart, and the ventures of the Missouri Fur Company. The mountain region was still virgin fur-gathering country, however, when William Henry Ashley led his trading expedition up the Missouri in 1822. Of the men who accompanied him, many were to spend most of the next few decades living in the mountains, sharing the hardships of Native American life, learning the paths, the rivers, and the peaks, and gathering furs.

Unlike the Hudson's Bay Company, which maintained permanent forts in the wilderness and bartered with the native people for their furs, Ashley's group had no traders, no permanent forts, no Native American trappers. The mountain men more often than not gathered the furs themselves and brought their harvest to an annual rendezvous at some previously appointed spot in the fur country. There they received their year's wages and obtained new supplies for the fall hunt. Because they spent many years together in the mountains they were known then and thereafter as the mountain men. They were a tough and self-reliant crew, able to deal with and fight the Native Americans and to survive in the wilderness alone.

The mountain men were members of loose companies; after Ashley retired, the company of Smith, Jackson, and Sublette was formed, to be succeeded by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. The annual rendezvous was an occasion of rough celebration—for many of the mountain men the nearest approach to civilization that they had for several years at a stretch. Prominent among the mountain men were Thomas Fitzpatrick, James Bridger, Jedediah S. Smith, Kit Carson, John Colter, William Sublette, Hugh Glass, W. S. (Old Bill) Williams, and Ceran St. Vrain. The country of the Southwest where Carson, the Bent brothers, Ewing Young, and others traded among the "civilized" Native Americans is also often considered part of the territory of the mountain men.

The Hudson's Bay Company from the Columbia River country also sent men into the mountains and the Great Basin, notably Alexander Ross and Peter Skene Ogden. In 1832 the American Fur Company began to send traders and trappers into the territory of the mountain men; some of their agents were outsmarted by their rivals and killed by the Native Americans, but the company persisted with its activities and ultimately employed many of the old mountain men.

With the expeditions of John C. Frémont (who was guided by mountain men) and the beginning of the wagon trains of settlers to Oregon (also guided by mountain men), the old life began to change. Its end was hastened by a change in fashions, which undermined the fur trade. In the late 1830s the beaver hat went out of style with the result that the price of beaver pelts declined to such a low point that it was no longer profitable for the mountain men to pursue their intense struggle with the wilderness. By the early 1840s their trapping activities had ceased.

See also fur trade.

mountain lion: see puma.

mountain laurel, evergreen shrub (Kalmia latifolia) of the family Ericaceae (heath family), closely related to the rhododendron and native to E North America. The state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, it has leathery leaves and large clusters of spring-blooming pink or white flowers borne at the ends of the branches. The flowers are unusual in having the anthers of the stamens held in little pockets of the corolla and released like springs when touched by an insect. Mountain laurel, called also calico bush and spoonwood, is poisonous to livestock but seldom palatable; formerly its leaves were used as a remedy for skin diseases, and spoons were made from the hard wood. Like other species of Kalmia (named for Peter Kalm) that share its poisonous quality and elastic stamens, it is an acid-soil plant. The sheep laurel or lambkill (K. angustifolia) has smaller, deeper pink flowers not borne at the branch tips. The true laurel belongs to a separate family. Although the leaves of Kalmia somewhat resemble in shape those of the true laurel, only the latter (sold as bayleaf) is suitable for seasoning. Mountain laurel is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales, family Ericaceae.

mountain goat: see Rocky Mountain goat.

mountain climbing, the practice of climbing to elevated points for sport, pleasure, or research. Also called mountaineering, it is practiced throughout the world.

Types

There are three types of mountain climbing. In the easiest, trail climbing, participants merely hike along trails to the top of a particular mountain. The trails generally are not very steep, and the mountains are relatively small. Rock climbing takes place on steeper slopes and larger mountains. Participants generally have to ascend on hands and feet, employing special equipment that may include thick rubber-soled boots or other special shoes, rope, and steel spikes, known as pitons, that are driven into the rock as an aid to climbing. Ice climbing is generally required only on extremely high mountains whose peaks are above the timber line. Equipment used in ice climbing includes the ice axe and attachable boot spikes, known as crampons, that are used on hard ice or snow.

Famous Ascents

Almost all the famous ascents have involved rock and ice climbing. The first significant achievements in mountain climbing were the ascents of Mont Blanc made by Jacques Balmat and Michel G. Paccard (1786) and by Horace B. de Saussure (1787). The ascent of other Alpine peaks, including the Ortles (1804), Jungfrau (1811), Finsteraarhorn (1812), and Mont Pelvou (1848) soon followed, and much useful information was gathered by geologists and topographers.

Modern mountain climbing may be dated from the ascent of Switzerland's Wetterhorn (1854). This feat was followed by a decade in which the popularity of mountain climbing grew tremendously, sparking the founding (1858) of the Alpine Club, in London, and the launching (1863) of its publication, the Alpine Journal. An elite class of professional guides soon established itself, and techniques for snow, ice, and rock climbing were developed to the point where highly hazardous ascents were possible for the experienced. This so-called golden age of mountain climbing came to an end with the conquest of the Matterhorn, the last of the great Alpine mountains, by Edward Whymper (1865).

As the Alps became familiar, climbers ventured to other mountainous areas. The English Lake District, Wales, and the Scottish Highlands offered climbing challenges of all degrees of difficulty. William C. Slingsby led the way to the Norwegian mountains; Douglas W. Freshfield was one of the pioneer climbers in the Caucasus, soon followed by Albert F. Mummery. In Africa, Kilimanjaro (1889) and Mt. Kenya (1899) were climbed; the duke of the Abruzzi explored the Ruwenzori group in 1906. In the United States, Grand Teton in the Teton Range was climbed in 1872. In the 1860s and 70s Clarence King and John Muir ranged through the Sierra Nevada. In Alaska, Mt. St. Elias was climbed by the duke of the Abruzzi in 1897; Mt. Blackburn and Mt. McKinley were ascended in 1912 and 1913, respectively. In South America, Whymper climbed Chimborazo (1880) and Aconcagua and Tupungato (both: 1897). Gongga (Minya Konka), in China, was climbed in 1932.

The most challenging of all have proved to be the mountain systems of the Himalayas. Conway of Allington explored the Karakorum range in 1892; in 1895 J. Norman Collie, C. G. Bruce, Geoffrey Hastings, and Albert Mummery attempted Nanga Parbat, but the effort was given up after Mummery's disappearance on the mountain's western face. It was not until 58 years later that Nanga Parbat was climbed by Herman Buhl. In 1950, Maurice Herzog scaled Annapurna. The three towering giants—Mt. Everest, K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen), and Mt. Kanchenjunga—were conquered in the 1950s: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to ascend Everest, the world's tallest mountain, in 1953; an Italian team led by Ardito Desio climbed K2 in 1954; and in 1955 a British expedition led by Charles Evans surmounted Kanchenjunga. With the Chinese claim of an ascent of Gosainthan in 1964, the world's ten tallest mountains, all in the Himalayas, were finally conquered. Two other notable events in mountaineering were the scaling (1961) of the south face of Mt. McKinley and the winter ascent (1961) of the north wall of the Eiger in the Alps.

Mountain Climbing Clubs

Many mountain climbing clubs have been formed, notably the Schweizer Alpen Club, Club Alpino Italiano, Club Alpin Français, the Himalayan Club, the Alpine Club (London), the Alpine Club of Canada, and the American Alpine Club. Most of these render valuable service by building and maintaining shelter huts and providing information concerning topography, routes, and mountain craft.

mountain beaver, stout, short-limbed North American rodent, Aplodontia rufa, not closely related to the true beaver. Also called sewellel beaver after the Chinook word for a robe made from its pelts, it is among the most primitive of the rodents and the only living member of its family. The mountain beaver is about 12 in. (30.5 cm) long, grayish or brownish red in color, and nearly tailless. With small eyes and ears and a blunted muzzle, it resembles a tailless muskrat. Its enlarged claws make it an excellent burrower, and it is also a good swimmer and tree climber. Generally nocturnal, the mountain beaver is found along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to California. Inhabiting damp, wooded country near streams, the rodent eats bark, leaves, and twigs. It builds complex colonial burrows with chambers for food storage, sleeping, and nesting. The location of mountain beavers is in part explained by the fact that they cannot adequately regulate the temperature of their bodies and must therefore live in stable, cool, moist environments. Mountain beavers are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Rodentia, family Aplodontidae.

mountain ash, name for any species of the genus Sorbus of the family Rosaceae (rose family), hardy ornamental trees and shrubs native to the Northern Hemisphere, not related to the true ashes. They are deciduous and bear flat-topped clusters of white flowers followed by orange or brilliant red berrylike fruits, for which they are widely cultivated as ornamentals. The astringent pome fruits are often used in domestic remedies. Of native kinds, the most common is the American mountain ash (S. americana), ranging from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Introduced species are often cultivated, especially the common European mountain ash or rowan tree (S. aucuparia). This tree is one of the most revered plants in the folklore of the Old World. It warded off evil influences and was "Thor's helper"; bits of the wood were thought to avert almost any disaster. Mountain ash is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.

mountain, high land mass projecting conspicuously above its surroundings and usually of limited width at its summit. Although isolated mountains are not unusual, mountains commonly form ranges, comprising either a single complex ridge or a series of related ridges. A group of ranges closely related in form, origin, and alignment is a mountain system; an elongated group of systems is a chain; and a complex of ranges, systems, and chains continental in extent is called a cordillera, zone, or belt.

Global Distribution and Impact on Humanity

Most of the great mountain systems now in existence were developed fairly late in geologic history. The greatest mountain masses are in North and South America, including the Andes, Rockies, Sierra Nevada, and Coast Ranges of the United States, Canada, and Alaska; and the Eurasian mountain belt, in which lie the Pyrenees, Atlas, Alps, Balkans, Caucasus, Hindu Kush, Himalayas, and other ranges. Among notable single peaks are Everest, K2 (Godwin-Austen), and Kanchenjunga in Asia; Aconcagua, Chimborazo, and Cotopaxi in South America; McKinley, Logan, and Popocatepetl in North America; Mont Blanc and Elbrus in Europe; Kilimanjaro, Kenya, and Ruwenzori in Africa.

Mountains have important effects upon the climate, population, economy, and state of civilization of the regions in which they occur. By intercepting prevailing winds they cause precipitation; regions on the windward side of a great range thus have plentiful rainfall, while those on its lee side are arid. Mountains are in general thinly populated, not only because the cold climate and rarefied atmosphere of high regions are unfavorable to human life, but also because the higher reaches of mountains are unfit for agriculture. Mountains frequently contain valuable mineral ores, deposited out of solution by water or by gases. Mountains act as natural barriers between countries and peoples; they determine the routes followed by traders, migrants, and invading armies. The difficulties of travel and communication in mountain regions tend to favor political disunity.

The Origins of Mountains

Mountains and mountain ranges have varied origins. Some are the erosional remnants of plateaus; others are cones built up by volcanoes, such as Mt. Rainier in Washington, or domes pushed up by intrusive igneous rock (see rock), such as the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Henry Mts., Utah. Fault-block mountains (see fault) are formed by the raising of huge blocks of the earth's surface relative to the neighboring blocks. The Basin and Range region of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah is one of the most extensive regions of fault-block mountains.

All the great mountain chains of the earth are either fold mountains or complex structures in whose formation folding, faulting, or igneous activity have taken part. The growth of folded or complex mountain ranges is preceded by the accumulation of vast thicknesses of marine sediments. It was first suggested in the late 1800s that these sediments accumulated in elongated troughs, or geosynclines, that were occupied by arms of the sea. While some of the sediment was derived from the interior of the continent, great quantities of sediment were apparently derived from regions now offshore from the continent. For examples, sedimentary rocks of the Appalachian Mts. formed in a vast geosyncline that extended from the Gulf states northeastward through the eastern states and New England, and into E Canada. It is now recognized that great thicknesses of sediment can occur wherever there is subsidence (lowering of the earth's crust).

The best modern analogues of geosynclines appear to be the thick deposits of sediment making up the continental shelves and continental rises (see ocean). Most geologists now believe that the geosynclinal sediments found in mountain ranges were initially deposited under similar conditions. The period of sedimentation is followed by folding and thrust faulting, with most high mountain ranges uplifted vertically subsequent to folding. The movements of the earth's surface that result in the building of mountains are compression, which produces folding, thrust faulting, and possibly some normal faulting; tension, which produces most normal faulting; and vertical uplift. Mountains are subject to continuous erosion during and after uplift. Sharp peaks are formed and are subsequently attacked and leveled. Mountains may be entirely base-leveled, or they may be rejuvenated by new uplifts.

The ultimate cause of mountain-building forces has been a source of controversy, and many hypotheses have been suggested. An old hypothesis held that earth movements were adjustments of the crust of the earth to a shrinking interior that contracted and set up stresses due either to heat loss or gravitational compaction. Another hypothesis suggested that earth movements were primarily isostatic, i.e., adjustments that kept the weights of sections of the crust nearly equal (see continent). A third hypothesis, popular from the early 1960s to today, ascribed mountain-building stresses to convection currents in a hot semiplastic region in the earth's mantle.

According to the plate tectonics theory, the lithosphere is broken into several plates, each consisting of oceanic crust, continental crust, or a combination of both. These plates are in constant motion, sideswiping one another or colliding, and continually changing in size and shape. Where two plates collide, compressional stresses are generated along the margin of the plate containing a continent. Such stresses result in the deformation and uplift of the continental shelf and continental rise sediments into complex folded and faulted mountain chains (see seafloor spreading; continental drift).

Yucca Mountain, mountain in the SW Nevada desert about 100 mi (161 km) northwest of Las Vegas. It is the proposed site of a Dept. of Energy (DOE) repository for up to 77,000 metric tons of nuclear waste (including commercial and defense spent fuel and high-level radioactive material) presently held nationwide at commercial reactors and DOE sites. The project arose from the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act requiring the DOE to construct a permanent underground nuclear-waste storage facility. Proponents of the use of Yucca Mt. as a repository claim that the area some 1,000 ft (300 m) beneath the mountain is the most viable site available, arid and remote with a deep water table, and that gathering the radioactive material in one location would allow for safer and more efficient and cost-effective protection. Opponents, including the state of Nevada, cite the potential for seepage into area groundwater, the danger of transporting waste to the facility, and the likelihood of the degradation of the storage containers and the occurrence of earthquakes and climate change over thousands of years. In 2002 President George W. Bush officially designated Yucca Mt. as the site for the nuclear waste repository, but regulatory hurdles and certain legal challenges must be surmounted before the facility can be constructed and opened.

White Mountain or White Hill, Czech Bílá Hora, hill near Prague, Czech Republic. There, in Nov., 1620, the Czech Protestants under Christian of Anhalt were routed by the combined armies of the empire and of the Catholic League, under Tilly. The battle ended the independence of Bohemia for 300 years and was the first engagement of the Thirty Years War.

Tarawera Mountain, volcanic peak, 3,646 ft (1,111 m) high, on the North Island, New Zealand, in Rotorua. Its eruption in 1886 destroyed villages and unique silica terraces, transformed local terrain, and temporarily drained Lake Rotomahana.

Table Mountain, 3,567 ft (1,087 m) high, Western Cape, South Africa. It overlooks Cape Town and Table Bay. The summit is flat, and the dense white mist that often covers it is called the "tablecloth." A cableway (built 1929) carries visitors to the summit.

Stone Mountain Memorial, memorial to the Confederacy, consisting of the equestrian figures of Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis carved on the northern face of Stone Mt., a granite dome 650 ft (198 m) high in NW Ga., NE of Atlanta. The memorial was commissioned by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1916 and was designed and partially executed by Gutzon Borglum. In 1925, sculptor Augustus Lukeman took charge of the project. Work stopped in 1930 and was not resumed until 1963, when the state of Georgia purchased the mountain and established a state park. Walter Hahock completed the sculpture, which was dedicated in 1970.

Springer Mountain, 3,820 ft (1,164 m) high, N Ga. It is the southernmost peak of the Blue Ridge Mts. and the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.

Sassafras Mountain, peak, 3,560 ft (1,085 m) high, NW S.C., in the Blue Ridge Mts., near the N.C. and Ga. lines. It is the highest point in South Carolina.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever, infectious disease caused by a rickettsia. The germ is harbored by wild rodents and other animals and is carried by infected ticks that attach themselves to humans. Despite its name, Rocky Mountain spotted fever is most prevalent in the S United States from Virgina, the Carolinas, and Georgia W to Oklahoma; it may be encountered in other tick-infested regions. Symptoms include chills and high fever; a rose-colored skin rash that appears first on the wrists and ankles and spreads to the trunk, the spots turning deep red and running together; headache; and pains in the back, muscles, and joints. In severe cases there may be delirium or coma. Spotted fever is a serious disease; however, it is not usually fatal if prompt antibiotic treatment is administered. Immunization with vaccine is effective.

Rocky Mountain sheep: see bighorn.

Rocky Mountain goat, hoofed ruminant mammal, Oreamnos americanus, found in the high mountains of S Alaska, W Canada, and the extreme NW United States. Although it is not a true goat it belongs to the same family (cattle family) and is goatlike in appearance, with a bearded chin, long face, and sharp, black horns 9 to 12 in. (22-30 cm) long, curved slightly backward. The head is large and the neck short. The coat is long, thick, and pure white. The male is about 3 ft (90 cm) high at the massively humped shoulder and weighs up to 200 lb (90 kg). Rocky Mountain goats live in small herds on steep mountain sides and cliffs, feeding on the stunted vegetation above the timberline. They are extremely sure-footed and nimbly traverse precipitous slopes and ledges. Related to the Old World chamois, the Rocky Mountain goat is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

Rocky Mountain elk: see wapiti.

Rocky Mountain House, town (1991 pop. 5,461), S central Alta., Canada, at the foot of the Rocky Mts. and the confluence of the North Saskatchewan and Clearwater rivers. Founded in 1799 as a fortified post of the North West Company in Blackfoot country and known as Blackfoot post, it was taken over (1821) and operated by the Hudson's Bay Company until 1875. It is now the gateway to a big-game hunting area.

Riding Mountain National Park, 1,148 sq mi (2,973 sq km), SW Man., Canada, W of Lake Manitoba; est. 1929. A wooded region with small glacial lakes, on the highest part of the Manitoba escarpment, it is a recreation area and big-game sanctuary.

Palomar Mountain, peak, 6,126 ft (1,867 m) high, S Calif., NE of San Diego, in Cleveland National Forest. It is the site of the Palomar Observatory, operated by the California Institute of Technology. The Hale telescope there, completed in 1948 and named for its creator George E. Hale, was the world's largest reflecting telescope (200 in./508 cm) until 1976, when Soviet scientists constructed an even bigger one. The growing smog from S California urban areas has reduced visibility from the observatory. The observatory, along with the Mount Wilson Observatory, was formerly part of the Hale Observatories, which were jointly administered by the California Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution.

Old Man of the Mountain, in Islamic history: see Assassin.

Old Man of the Mountain, N.H.: see Franconia Mountains.

Mountain-Karabakh: see Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan.

Mountain-Badakhshan: see Badakhshan, Tajikistan.

Mountain-Altai: see Altai Republic, Russia.

Mountain, the, in French history, the label applied to deputies sitting on the raised left benches in the National Convention during the French Revolution. Members of the faction, known as Montagnards [Mountain Men] saw themselves as the embodiment of national unity. Its followers included Jacobins elected from Paris as well as the Cordeliers and the followers of Jacques Roux. Approximately 300 of the 750 deputies associated themselves with the Mountain. Although party lines were not sharply drawn, the Mountain's opponents were the more moderate Girondists. Prominent Montagnards Robespierre, Georges Danton, and Jean Paul Marat were elected from Paris. The fall of the Girondists (June, 1793) was a victory for the Mountain, whose members ruled France under the Reign of Terror (1793-94). The Montain sponsored the Revolutionary Tribunal, the surveillance committees, the Committee of Public Safety, and the levée en masse. Its deputies went on missions, wielding unlimited powers, to defend the Revolution in the provinces and at the fronts. It was supported by Jacobin propaganda. The fall of Robespierre, 9 Thermidor (July 27, 1794), supported by some of the Mountain, split the Mountain and led to its downfall. The romance of the Mountain led the revolutionary left of 1848 to call themselves the Mountain as well. See Plain, the.

Mountain View, city (1990 pop. 67,460), Santa Clara co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1902. A steadily growing city, Mountain View is part of the Silicon Valley high-technology industrial complex. It has electronics, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications industries. Fruits and vegetables are shipped from the city. The NASA Ames Research Center is at nearby Moffett Field.

Mountain Meadows, small valley in extreme SW Utah, where in 1857 a party of some 140 emigrants bound for California were massacred. It was a period when friction between Mormons and non-Mormons was acute, with Mormons bitterly resenting the coming of U.S. troops to enforce federal laws in their territory. Earlier that year a Mormon convocation had declared the independence of Utah from the United States, and Mormon hostility toward westward-bound travelers had escalated. In Sept., 1857, a party of emigrants from Arkansas, with a few from Missouri and Illinois, led by Charles Fancher, encamped at Mountain Meadows, a well-known camp site on the Spanish Trail. There they were attacked by a large band of Mormons, many disguised as members of the local Paiute tribe, allegedly accompanied by real Paiutes and apparently led by Mormon John D. Lee.

After three days (Sept. 8-11) of defending themselves behind their wagons, the emigrants were approached under a flag of truce by the Mormons, who offered to protect them in a retreat to Cedar City but instructed them to go unarmed and on foot, ostensibly to allay the suspicions of the Paiute. While following these instructions, the entire party, with the exception of 18 young children, were massacred. The Mormons were charged with inciting and directing the attack, and anti-Mormon feeling was intensified; Mormons attempted to blame the attack on the Paiutes. Several investigations were made, but it was not until 1874 that Lee, a fanatical Mormon and adopted son of Brigham Young, was arrested. In 1875, Lee and three associates accused of complicity were excommunicated. Lee was convicted of murder and in 1877 was put to death at the Mountain Meadows site. No other members of the raiding party were ever charged. Into the 1990s the Paiutes continued to be widely blamed for the massacre, which remains a controversial event in the history of the American West.

Mountain Brook, city (1990 pop. 19,810), Jefferson co., N central Ala.; inc. 1942. It is a residential suburb of Birmingham.

Mountain Ash, Welsh Aberpennar, town (1981 pop. 26,231), Rhondda Cynon Taff, S Wales. A former mining community, it depended upon the great coal mines nearby, which were developed in the 19th cent. A pavilion was built in 1906 to house the annual Welsh arts festival, the eisteddfod.

Landis, Kenesaw Mountain, 1866-1944, American jurist and commissioner of baseball (1921-44), b. Millville, Butler co., Ohio, grad. Union College of Law (now Northwestern Univ. law school), 1891. He practiced law in Chicago after 1891, the year he was admitted to the bar, and later served (1905-22) as a U.S. district judge in N Illinois. In 1907 he imposed a $29,240,000 fine on the Standard Oil Company of Indiana in a rebate case. Though it was reversed by a higher court, the decision won him wide acclaim. In 1917 he sentenced William D. Haywood, American labor leader, to a 20-year prison term, and although the decision was later reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court, Landis sentenced Victor Berger and six other Socialists for sedition (impeding the war effort). After organized baseball was confronted (1920) with the "Black Sox" scandal, a committee of baseball executives appointed (1921) Landis—who had presided at the case in which the newly organized Federal League brought suit against the National and American leagues for violating the Sherman Anti-Trust Act—to the new post of baseball commissioner. Landis immediately barred from organized baseball the eight Chicago White Sox players charged with bribery in the 1919 world series. The strict discipline he imposed on players and managements did much to restore public faith in professional baseball.

Kittatinny Mountain, ridge of the Appalachian system, extending across NW N.J. from Shawangunk Mt., SE N.Y., to Blue Mt., S central Pa.; rises to High Point (1,803 ft/550 m), the highest peak in New Jersey. Kittatinny Mt. is a major resort and recreation area; the Appalachian Trail lies atop the ridge. The Delaware River cuts through the eastern part of the ridge forming the Delaware Water Gap.

Kings Mountain National Military Park: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Green Mountain Boys, popular name of armed bands formed (c.1770) under the auspices of Ethan Allen in the Green Mountains of what is today Vermont. Their purpose was to prevent the New Hampshire Grants, as Vermont was then known, from becoming part of New York, to which it had been awarded by the British. Land speculators, such as Allen and his brothers, and settlers banded together in armed groups to defend their lands. Their methods were threat, intimidation, and actual violence against the New Yorkers, and they managed to keep the region free from New York control, establishing (1777) instead a separate government that ultimately achieved (1791) statehood for Vermont. In the American Revolution the Green Mountain Boys figured prominently in 1775, when, under Allen's leadership, they captured Ticonderoga. In 1777 Seth Warner and John Stark led them to victory at Bennington—one of the notable achievements of the revolutionaries in the Saratoga campaign.

Cheyenne Mountain, c.9,565 ft (2,915 m), in the Front Range of the Rocky Mts., El Paso co., central Colo., SW of Colorado Springs. Halfway up the mountain, in North Cheyenne Park, is the Shrine of the Sun Memorial, erected in memory of Will Rogers. It consists of a 100-ft (30-m) tower, the interior of which is decorated with frescoes; there is bust of Rogers by Jo Davidson. The headquarters of the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) and other defense facilities are located deep inside the mountain.

Cedar Mountain: see Bull Run.

Catoctin Mountain Park: see National Parks and Monuments (table).

Big Black Mountain, peak, 4,145 ft (1,263 m) high, E Ky., in the Cumberland Mts.; highest point in Kentucky.

Bernese mountain dog, breed of sturdy working dog first brought to Switzerland by the invading Roman armies over two millennia ago. It stands from 23 to 27 in. (58-69 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs from 50 to 70 lb (23-32 kg). Its long, silky, slightly wavy coat is jet black with a white blaze up the face, white on the chest, feet, and tip of tail, and russet-brown or tan markings on all four legs and above the eyes. For hundreds of years in its native canton of Bern, the Bernese mountain dog was used as a draft animal by the local merchants to haul cartloads of goods to market. Today it is raised principally for show competition and as a pet. See dog.

Bear Mountain, peak, 1,284 ft (391 m) high, SE N.Y., overlooking the Hudson River. The Bear Mt. section of the Palisades Interstate Park, with facilities for both summer and winter sports, is popular among New York City residents. The remains of Fort Clinton, dating from the Revolutionary War, are there. The Bear Mt. Bridge crosses the Hudson River near West Point. This suspension bridge, 2,257 ft (688 m) long, was opened in 1924 and was acquired by the state of New York in 1940.

Backbone Mountain, peak, 3,360 ft (1,024 m) high, NW Md., in the Allegheny Mts.; highest elevation in the state.

or mountain sickness

Acute reaction to a change from low altitudes to altitudes above 8,000 ft (2,400 m). Most people gradually adapt, but some have a severe reaction that can be fatal unless they return to low altitude. Normal adaptations to the reduced oxygen at high altitude (e.g., breathlessness, racing heartbeat) are exaggerated; other manifestations include headache, gastrointestinal upsets, and weakness. Pulmonary edema is quickly reversed with oxygen and evacuation to a lower area.

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or mountain sheep

Stocky, climbing hoofed mammal (Ovis canadensis) of western North America. Both sexes have horns that in the male may curve in a spiral more than 39 in. (1 m) long. Their fur is usually brown with a whitish rump patch. The related thinhorn, or Dall's sheep (O. dalli), of Alaska and Canada is similar to the bighorn. Both species are about 39 in. (1 m) tall at the shoulder, but the bighorn is heavier, weighing up to 300 lb (136 kg). They live in small groups among remote crags and cliffs of mountainous areas and feed mainly on grasses. Bighorn rams compete for females by launching themselves at each other from a few yards' distance and clashing horns.

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Mountain range, southern Montana and northern Wyoming, U.S. It is a range of the northern Rocky Mountains extending 120 mi (193 km), rising abruptly 4,000–5,000 ft (1,200–1,500 m) above the Great Plains and Bighorn Basin. The highest summit is Wyoming's Cloud Peak, at 13,165 ft (4,013 m). Bighorn National Forest covers part of the range. On Medicine Mountain is the Medicine Wheel, a prehistoric stone-spoked circle 70 ft (20 m) in diameter.

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or puma or mountain lion or panther

Species (Puma concolor) of large, graceful cat that lives in a wide variety of habitats in the Americas, from southern Alaska to Patagonia. In many regions, the species is restricted to wilderness areas, and some subspecies are considered endangered. Cougars' coloration ranges from pale buff to reddish brown, with dark ears and tail tip and white rump and belly. The adult weighs from 77 to more than 220 lb (35 to 100 kg). A male may be about 9 ft (3 m) long, one-third of which is tail, and stand 24–30 in. (60–75 cm) tall at the shoulder. Since the cougar occasionally kills livestock, it has been intensively hunted by farmers, especially in North America, and has been basically exterminated from the eastern U.S. It is valuable for preventing overpopulation of prey animals (mostly deer, in North America). In North America, cougar attacks on humans occur a few times per year, some being fatal.

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or Rocky Mountain goat

Ruminant (bovid species Oreamnos americanus) of the Yukon to the northern Rockies that is more closely related to antelopes than to goats. Stocky, with a hump at the withers, mountain goats stand about 40 in. (1 m) at the shoulder. Both sexes bear short, hollow, slightly backward-curving, black horns. The shaggy, coarse white hair covers a thick, woolly underfur, and a beard frames the slender muzzle. The hooves are black. Mountain goats are agile climbers and can leap more than 12 ft (3.5 m). They live in small bands above the timberline, eating moss, lichen, and scrub foliage.

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or mountain climbing

Sport of attaining, or attempting to attain, high points in mountainous regions, mainly for the joy of the climb. The pleasures of mountaineering lie not only in the conquest of the peak but also in the physical and spiritual satisfactions brought about through intense personal effort, ever-increasing proficiency, and contact with natural grandeur. The greater rewards do not come without considerable risk and danger. The first great peak ascended in modern times was Mont Blanc, in 1786. Other Alpine peaks followed, capped by the ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. By the 1910s, most peaks of the Andes, the Rockies, and other Western Hemisphere ranges had been climbed, including Mount McKinley (1913). Beginning in the 1930s a series of successful ascents of mountains in the Himalayas occurred; the summits of many of the Himalayan mountains were not reached until the 1950s, however. Of these climbs, the best known is the 1953 ascent of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. In the 1960s mountaineering became an increasingly technical sport, emphasizing the use of specialized anchoring, tethering, and grappling gear in the ascent of vertical rock or ice faces.

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Any of several shrubs or trees of the genus Sorbus, in the rose family, native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are widely cultivated as ornamentals for their white flower clusters and bright-orange fruits. Most noteworthy are the handsome American mountain ash, or dogberry (S. americana), and European mountain ash (S. aucuparia), also called rowan, or quickbeam. The European species grows to 60 ft (18 m), twice as high as the American species.

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Landform that rises well above its surroundings, generally exhibiting steep slopes, a relatively confined summit area, and considerable local relief (inequalities of elevation). Mountains are considered larger than hills, but the term has no standardized geologic meaning. Mountains are formed by the folding, faulting, or upwarping of the Earth's surface due to the movement of plates (see plate tectonics) or by the emplacement of volcanic rock onto the surface. For example, the Himalayan Mountains where India meets the Eurasian Plate were formed by a collision between plates that caused extreme compressional folding and the uplifting of large areas. The mountain ranges around the Pacific basin are attributed to the sinking of one plate beneath another. Seealso plateau.

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Typhus-like disease first seen in the Rocky Mountain region, caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii (see rickettsia) and transmitted by various ticks. In severe cases the rash bleeds more and is especially prominent on the wrists and ankles. Central nervous system involvement causes restlessness, insomnia, and delirium. Prostration may progress to coma, with death possible in a week or more. Mortality increases with age. Recovery is slow but usually complete as visual disturbances, deafness, and mental confusion pass. Prompt antibiotic treatment hastens it and reduces mortality. Prevention depends on avoiding tick bites, by wearing long, light-coloured clothing and insect repellent and inspecting for ticks. A vaccine reduces the risk of infection somewhat and of death greatly.

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(born Nov. 20, 1866, Millville, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 25, 1944, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. federal judge and first commissioner of professional baseball. Landis was named for a Georgia mountain where his father had been wounded as a Civil War soldier. He practiced law in Chicago (1891–1905) before being appointed a U.S. district judge (1905–22). In 1907 he presided over a famous case in which Standard Oil Co. was found guilty of granting unlawful freight rebates and fined $29 million (his decision was later reversed). He was named baseball commissioner in 1920 in the aftermath of the Black Sox scandal and became noted for his uncompromising measures to preserve the game's integrity. Though widely disliked for his stern, autocratic rule, he kept the post until his death.

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(born Nov. 20, 1866, Millville, Ohio, U.S.—died Nov. 25, 1944, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. federal judge and first commissioner of professional baseball. Landis was named for a Georgia mountain where his father had been wounded as a Civil War soldier. He practiced law in Chicago (1891–1905) before being appointed a U.S. district judge (1905–22). In 1907 he presided over a famous case in which Standard Oil Co. was found guilty of granting unlawful freight rebates and fined $29 million (his decision was later reversed). He was named baseball commissioner in 1920 in the aftermath of the Black Sox scandal and became noted for his uncompromising measures to preserve the game's integrity. Though widely disliked for his stern, autocratic rule, he kept the post until his death.

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Breed of Swiss working dog brought to Switzerland over 2,000 years ago by invading Romans. The hardy breed was widely used to pull carts and to drive cattle to and from their pastures. It has a broad chest, hanging V-shaped ears, and a long, silky, black coat. Markings include brown spots on the chest and forelegs and over the eyes, and sometimes white on the chest, nose, feet, and tail tip. The breed stands 21–28 in. (53–70 cm) high and weighs about 90 lbs (40 kg).

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