Some well-known mountain ranges include the Rocky Mountains in North America, the Andes in South America and the Himalayas in Asia. Ireland has many ranges of hills and mountains that I have explored, such as the Glendalough trails and Wicklow Mountains.
Mountains themselves are not living, but many plants and animals depend on them. Trees, shrubs and wildflowers grow on mountainsides. Animals such as mountain goats, deer, birds, squirrels as well as many insects live up there too. Mountains provide fresh water through streams and rivers that flow down from snow melts at the summits.
Mountains even have their own climates, which means the weather can be different depending on how high up you are. At the bottom of a mountain, when I start my hike, it might feel warm and sunny, with lots of trees growing. As you go higher up, the air gets cooler and the trees stop growing. Near the top, it can be very cold, windy, and sometimes covered in snow all year long - even in the summer!
Mountains can be harmed when people remove too many trees or dig for rocks and minerals on the mountainside. Climate change is also causing some mountain snow to melt faster than before, flooding rivers and streams. These changes can affect the animals and plants that depend on mountains. However, we are not too worried about the mountains themselves. They’ve existed way before us and will exist way after us!
