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Massif

Principal mass of a mountain

Note

a geological formation

A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain.

As a purely scientific term in geology, however, a "massif" is separately and more specifically defined as a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. A massif is a smaller structural unit than a tectonic plate and is considered the fourth-largest driving force in geomorphology.

The word "massif" originates from French (in which the word also means "massive"), where it is used to refer to a large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range. The Face on Mars is an example of an extraterrestrial massif. Massifs may also form underwater, as with the Atlantis Massif.

List

Africa

Adrar des Ifoghas – Mali
Aïr Massif – Niger
Ambohiby Massif – Madagascar
Benna Massif – Guinea
Bongo Massif – Central African Republic
Ennedi Plateau – Chad
Kilimanjaro Massif – Kenya–Tanzania
Oban Massif – Nigeria
Marojejy Massif – Madagascar
Mulanje Massif – Malawi
Virunga Massif – Uganda–Rwanda–DR Congo
Waterberg Biosphere – South Africa

Algeria

Collo Massif
Edough Massif
Khachna Massif

Antarctica

Borg Massif
Craddock Massif
Cumpston Massif
Vinson Massif
Otway Massif

Asia

Annapurna – Nepal
Bromo-Tengger-Semeru – Indonesia
Chu Pong Massif – Vietnam
Dhaulagiri – Nepal
Gasherbrum – China-Pakistan
Kangchenjunga – Nepal–India
Knuckles Massif – Sri Lanka
Kondyor Massif – Russia
Kugitangtau Ridge – Turkmenistan
Kumgangsan – North Korea
Logar ultrabasite massif – Afghanistan
Mount Ararat – Turkey
Mount Everest massif (including Lhotse) – Nepal–Tibet (China)
Mount Kinabalu – Malaysia
Mount Tomuraushi – Japan
Nanga Parbat – Pakistan

India

Bundelkhand
Nun Kun
Panchchuli
Shillong

Iran

Dena
Hazaran
Kheru-Naru (Chekel)
Kholeno
Mount Damavand
Sabalan
Takht-e Suleyman Massif
Zard-Kuh

Kazakhstan

Degelen
Kokshetau Massif
Mount Ku
Myrzhyk
Semizbughy

Europe

Aarmassif – Switzerland
Ardennes Massif – France–Belgium–Luxembourg
Åreskutan – Sweden
Arlberg – Austria
Bohemian Massif – Czech Republic
Ceahlău Massif – Romania
Gotthard Massif – Switzerland
Hesperian Massif – Iberian Peninsula
Jungfrau Massif – Switzerland
Mangerton Mountain – Ireland
Montgris – Spain
Montserrat – Spain
Mont Blanc massif – Italy–France–Switzerland
Rhenish Massif – Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France
Rila – Rhodope Massif – Bulgaria–Greece
Troodos – Cyprus
Untersberg – Germany–Austria
Vitosha Massif – Bulgaria

France

Alpilles
Aravis Range
Armorican Massif
Bauges Massif
Beaufortain Massif
Belledonne massif
Bornes Massif
Calanques Massif
Cerces Massif
Chablais Massif
Chartreuse Massif
Dévoluy Mountains
Massif des Écrins
Jura Mountains
Lauzière massif
Luberon
Massif Central
Massif de l'Esterel
Massif du Mercantour-Argentera
Monte Cinto massif
Taillefer Massif
Queyras Massif
Vanoise Massif
Vercors Plateau
Vosges Mountains

Italy

Gran Sasso d'Italia
Grappa Massif
Massiccio del Matese
Massiccio del Pollino
Monte Ermada
Sila Massif
Speikboden (South Tyrol)

United Kingdom

Ben Nevis massif
Cornubian Massif
Long Mynd
Snowdon Massif
Ben Klibreck
Cairngorms massifs

North America

Canada

Laurentian Massif
Le Massif de Charlevoix
Mount Logan
Mount Cayley
Level Mountain
Mount Edziza
Mount Meager massif
Mount Septimus

United States

Adirondack Massif
Denali
Grandfather Mountain
Mount Juneau
Mount Katahdin
Mount Le Conte
Mount Shuksan
Mount Timpanogos
Shenandoah
French Broad
Teton Range

Oceania

Big Ben – Heard Island
Ahipara Gumfields – New Zealand

Caribbean

Massif de la Hotte – Haiti
Valle Nuevo Massif – Dominican Republic

Central America

Cerro Chirripó – Costa Rica

South America

Brasilia Massif – Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay.
Neblina Massif – Venezuela–Brazil
Colombian Massif – Colombia
North Patagonian Massif – Argentina
Deseado Massif – Argentina

Submerged

Atlantis Massif – part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the North Atlantic Ocean
Tamu Massif — the largest volcano on Earth

References

(2009-11-06). "The Sydney Morning Herald, November 6, 2009".
{{cite Merriam-Webster. massif
[[Philip A. Allen. Allen, P. A.]] 2008, Time scales of tectonic landscapes and their sediment routing systems, Geol. Soc. Lon. Sp. Pub., v. 296, p. 7–28.
Britt, Robert Roy. (2006-09-21). "Mars Face Makeover: Controversial Formation Observed from New Angles". [[Space.com]].
Blackman, Donna. (2002). "Geology of the Atlantis Massif (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 30°N): Implications for the evolution of an ultramafic oceanic core complex". Marine Geophysical Researches.
Tollo, Richard. (June 16, 2023). "Mesoproterozoic Geology of the Blue Ridge Province in North-Central Virginia: Petrologic and Structural Perspectives on Grenvillian Orogenesis and Paleozoic Tectonic Processes".

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landforms mountains

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