From the glacier-sharpened spires of Alaska to the softly rounded ridges of Appalachia, the mountains of North America display a diversity of form and beauty that reflects the varied character and spirit of the continent and its people. Massive peaks hung with glaciers, looming over vast expanses of northern forest and arctic tundra, epitomize for many the ultimate ideal of wilderness in its wildest and most natural state. To the south snow-capped volcanoes of the Cascades present a vision of paradise, floating pure and cool among the clouds. Breaking free from the valleys around their feet to leap toward the open heights above, the rugged peaks of the Sierra Nevada express in sculpted rock a yearning for freedom and fulfillment. The endless ranges of the Rocky Mountains, rippling out toward the thin blue rim of the western sky, beckon the traveler with promises of a land of limitless opportunity, waiting beyond the horizon.