Brain Post: How Lightning Shapes Mountains Lightning plays a big part in shaping mountains. Researchers studying Lesothoโs Drakensberg mountain range discovered 90 lightning strikes per square half mile. The above infographic explains how lightning shapes mountains. Basically, lightning hits mountainsides, at 50,000F, vaporizing water in cracks in the mountainโs cracks. The pressure from the vaporization of the water in the cracks [โฆ] Brains SnowBrains | January 10, 2014 1 Comment