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.Allen, P. A. 2008, Time scales of tectonic landscapes and their sediment routing systems, Geol. Soc. Lon. Sp. Pub., v. 296, p. 7–28.
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 – Pakistan
India Bundelkhand Nun Kun Panchchuli
Iran Dena Hazaran Kheru-Naru (Chekel) Kholeno Mount Damavand
Takht-e Suleyman Massif Zard-Kuh
Kazakhstan
Kokshetau Massif Mount Ku Myrzhyk
Europe
Aarmassif – Switzerland Ardennes Massif – France–Belgium–Luxembourg Åreskutan – Sweden – Austria Bohemian Massif – Czech Republic Ceahlău Massif – Romania Gotthard Massif – Switzerland Hesperian Massif – Iberian Peninsula Jungfrau Massif – Switzerland Mangerton Mountain – Ireland Montgris – Spain – Spain Mont Blanc massif – Italy–France–Switzerland Rhenish Massif – Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France – Rhodope Massif – Bulgaria–Greece Troodos – Cyprus Untersberg – Germany–Austria 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
Massif de l'Esterel Massif du Mercantour-Argentera Monte Cinto Massif Taillefer Massif Queyras Massif Vanoise Massif Vercors Plateau Vosges Mountains
Italy
Langkofel Group Grappa Massif
Monte Ermada Sila Massif Speikboden (South Tyrol)
United Kingdom Ben Nevis massif Cornubian Massif Long Mynd Snowdon Massif Ben Klibreck Cairngorms massifs Scafell massif
North America Canada Laurentian Massif
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