Mountains
Mountains aren't just a sight to behold—they cover 22 percent of the planet's land surface and provide habitat for plants, animals and about 1 billion human beings. It is something magical to be in awe of mountains, with their unique characteristics and stunning features. They are a reminder they we live in a world where there are places much bigger than ourselves. People are drawn to things that are bigger and more powerful than themselves, and mountains remind us of that. But they are also a place of nurturing.
They are vital land forms also supply critical resources such as fresh water, food and even renewable energy. (EcoWatch)
Mountains provide for the freshwater needs of more than half of humanity, and are, in effect, the water towers of the world. The world's mountains encompass some of the most spectacular landscapes, a great diversity of species and habitat types, and distinctive human communities. (CBD)
Mountain areas hold a vast variety of life forms due to their local breadth of physical conditions related to altitude and slope. They include astonishing biodiversity in terms of number of taxa and endemicity and make up half of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Mountains occur in 88% of the World’s 821 terrestrial ecoregions. (IUCN)
