The Earth is a very beautiful and complex planet, where complex geological changes have created many different landscapes, and where one can marvel at a continuous mountain range.

A mountain range is a body of hills and valleys extending in a certain direction. The direction in which it extends is the direction of the mountain range. Do you know what are the most famous mountain ranges in the world?

Famous mountain ranges in the world

1. The Andes

The Andes are located on the west coast of South America and extend from Panama to Chile. The average width from east to west is 241 kilometres, with the widest point being about 750 kilometres.

The average altitude of the mountains is 3,660 metres, with many peaks with year-round snow at over 6,000 metres. At around 7,500 km long, it is three times longer than the Himalayas and is the longest mountain range on land.

2. Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are the backbone of the Cordillera of the Americas in North America and consist of a number of smaller ranges, most of which average between 2,000 and 3,000 metres above sea level, with some exceeding 4,000 metres, and are known as the 'backbone' of North America.

The main range extends from British Columbia in Canada to New Mexico in the southwest of the United States and is approximately 4,800 kilometres long.

3. The Great Dividing Range

The Great Dividing Range is the main mountain range in eastern Australia. It stretches from the Cape York Peninsula in the north to Victoria in the south, roughly parallel to the coastline, and is about 3000 kilometres long and 200 to 300 kilometres wide, with its highest peak, Mount Kosciusko, being the highest point on the Australian continent at 2230 metres above sea level. The ridge is the watershed between the Indian and Pacific Ocean water systems, hence the name.

4. Kunlun Mountains

The Kunlun Mountains rise from the eastern Pamir Plateau in the west to the upper valley of the Qaidam River in the east, bordering the Bayankara and Animaqing Mountains and the Tarim and Qaidam Basins in the north.

The mountains are more than 2,500 km long and 130-200 km wide, with an average altitude of 5,500-6,000 m. They are narrow in the west and wide in the east, covering a total area of more than 500,000 square kilometres.

5. The Himalayas

The Himalayas, the highest and most majestic mountain range in the world, are located in Asia between China and Nepal, on the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, from the Namgyal-Parbat peak in Kashmir in the west to the Namgyal Bawa peak at the great bend of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the east, with a total length of 2,400 kilometres. There are about 70 peaks, and the main peak, Everest, is 8844.43 metres above sea level.

6. Tianshan Mountains

The Tianshan Mountains are located in the centre of Xinjiang, separating Xinjiang into the Tarim Basin and the Junggar Basin, and are a geographically important boundary.

It stretches east to west across four countries - China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. It is 2,500 kilometres long and an average of 250-350 kilometres wide from north to south, with an average altitude of 3,000-5,000 metres.

7. The Atlas Mountains

The Atlas Mountains are located in north-western Africa and are 2,400 km long, spanning Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia and separating the south-western coast of the Mediterranean Sea from the Sahara Desert. The highest peak is Mount Toubkal, at 4,167m, in southwestern Morocco.

8. Altai Mountains

The Altai Mountains are located in the north of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and in western Mongolia. It has a northwest-southeast trend. It is about 2000 km long and 1000-3000 m above sea level.