Analysis of the distribution of the Earth’s highest mountains shows that the Earth’s surface can be modelled by a mathematical surface which is more complicated than a usual fractal and the dimension of which is not a constant value. The deviations of the obtained approximating curve of the mountains’ height from the actual height are shown to represent a statistical noise close to 1 / f 2. The total number of mountains and the maximum possible height of a mountain on the Earth are assessed. The concept of the distribution density of mountains (orosity) is introduced, which may be useful in economic assessments.
Keywords: mountains, fractals, noise 1 / f2, mathematical modelling
