Hill
A landform extending above terrain, smaller than a mountain.
Last updated
A hill is a landform that is lower than a mountain, though the exact distinction has varied historically and regionally.[1][2] The United States Geological Survey has concluded that the terms "hill" and "mountain" do not have technical definitions in the US.[2][3]
Quick Facts
- Type
- Landform
- Category
- Slope landforms
- Formation processes
- Faulting
- erosion
- glacial deposition
- weathering
- Related terms
- Hillock
- knoll
- knowe
- mound
- tumulus
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defined "hill" as an upland with a relative height of up to 200 m.[4] Artificial hills may be referred to by technical names including mound and tumulus.[5] In 2008, three walkers surveyed Mynydd Graig Goch in Snowdonia and found its true height was six inches over 2000 ft, upgrading it from a hill to a mountain.[6] The walkers used satellite positioning equipment supplied by Swiss firm Leica Geosystems, taking 7000 readings over two hours.[6]
A historical perspective from geographers considered any landform exceeding 1000 feet in elevation above sea level to be a mountain, not a hill.[1] Hillwalkers, however, have traditionally classified summits reaching 2000 feet above sea level as mountains.[1] A hillock is defined as a small hill; the terms knoll and knowe (a variant used in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England) also refer to small hills.[5] In the Middle East, some settlements are built on artificial mounds formed from accumulated debris over generations; such a location is called a "tell".[7]
What the research sources say
The go4awalk.com account states that mountains in the UK and Ireland must be over 610m (approx 2000ft) to be called mountains, with a re-ascent requirement of at least 30m or 152m depending on the system.[8] The wisegeek.com source notes that the US attempted to define a mountain by a 1000-foot relief requirement, but these definitions were discarded in the 1920s.[3] The same source states that hills are considered "softer, more easily climbed, areas of rising ground."[3] The wisegeek.com source also mentions that sometimes the difference is that mountains are named while hills may not be.[3]
References
- Wikipedia, "Hill" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Whittow, John (1984). Dictionary of Physical Geography. London: Penguin, 2004, p. 352. .; Nuttall, "The Mountains of England & Wales - Volume 2: England", Cicerone, 2008; "Survey turns hill into a mountain", BBC News, 18 September 2008; "A Mountain is a Mountain - isn't it?", www.go4awalk.com; mountain at dictionary.reference.com. Accessed on 3 February 2013.; Wilson, Peter (2001). "Listing the Irish hills and mountains" in Irish Geography, Vol 34(1), University of Ulster, Coleraine, p. 89.; What is a "Mountain"? Mynydd Graig Goch and all that… at en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hill" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "What is the Difference Between a Mountain and a Hill?", www.wisegeek.com (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "What is the Difference Between a Mountain and a Hill?", www.wisegeek.com. facts only, no text reused. wisegeek.com
- Wikipedia, "Hill" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hill at the Great Soviet Encyclopedia. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Hill" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Knowe, Random House Dictionary at dictionary.com (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Survey turns hill into a mountain", BBC News, 18 September 2008. facts only, no text reused. news.bbc.co.uk
- Wikipedia, "Hill" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wilkinson, T.J. Archaeological landscapes of the near east. Tucson: U of Arizona P, 2003, 226. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "A Mountain is a Mountain - isn't it?", www.go4awalk.com. facts only, no text reused. go4awalk.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Hill (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Meteorology
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Hill (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced