<P> A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills ranged in a line and connected by high ground . A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure and alignment that have arisen from the same cause, usually an orogeny . Mountain ranges are formed by a variety of geological processes, but most of the significant ones on Earth are the result of plate tectonics . Mountain ranges are also found on many planetary mass objects in the Solar System and are likely a feature of most terrestrial planets . </P> <P> Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys . Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology . They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, and volcanic landforms resulting in a variety of rock types . </P> <P> Most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earth's land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt . The Pacific Ring of Fire includes the Andes of South America, extends through the North American Cordillera along the Pacific Coast, the Aleutian Range, on through Kamchatka, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, to New Zealand . The Andes is 7,000 kilometres (4,350 mi) long and is often considered the world's longest mountain system . </P> <P> The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, and ends in the Alps, Spain and Atlas Mountains . The belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges . The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, which is 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) high and traverses the border between China and Nepal . </P>

Where are mountain ranges most likely to occur