A hill is a landform In the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, a landform or physical feature comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. Landform elements also include seascape and oceanic waterbody interface features such that extends above the surrounding terrain. Hills often have a distinct summit In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation. The topographic terms "acme", "apex", "peak", and "zenith" are synonyms, although in areas with scarp/dip topography Usually escarpment is used interchangeably with scarp . But some sources differentiate the two terms, where escarpment refers to the margin between two landforms, while scarp is synonymous with a cliff or steep slope. The surface of the steep slope is called a scarp face. Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential a hill may refer to a particular section of flat terrain without a massive summit (e.g. Box Hill Box Hill is a well known beauty spot in the North Downs of Surrey, England, close to the southern outskirts of London, overlooking Dorking to the south-west. There is a small village of the same name about 1.5 kilometres to the east. The hill is named after the box trees which can be found on its steep southern and western flanks, notably around).

Terminology

The distinction between a hill and a mountain A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them. The study of mountains is called Orography is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is generally somewhat lower and less steep than a mountain. In the United Kingdom geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than 1,000 feet A foot is a non-SI unit of length in a number of different systems including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. Its size can vary from system to system, but in each is around a quarter to a third of a meter. The most commonly used foot today is the international foot. There are three feet in a yard and 12 inches in a (300 m The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole, its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology. Since 1983, it is defined as the distance travelled by light in) above sea level, which formed the basis of the plot of the 1995 film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain. In contrast, hillwalkers have tended to regard mountains as peaks 2,000 feet A foot is a non-SI unit of length in a number of different systems including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. Its size can vary from system to system, but in each is around a quarter to a third of a meter. The most commonly used foot today is the international foot. There are three feet in a yard and 12 inches in a (610 m The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole, its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology. Since 1983, it is defined as the distance travelled by light in) above sea level. The Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is a dictionary of the English language. Two fully-bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. As of December 2008[update], the editors had completed one quarter of a third edition also suggests a limit of 2,000 feet A foot is a non-SI unit of length in a number of different systems including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. Its size can vary from system to system, but in each is around a quarter to a third of a meter. The most commonly used foot today is the international foot. There are three feet in a yard and 12 inches in a (610 m The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole, its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology. Since 1983, it is defined as the distance travelled by light in). This has led to Cavanal Hill Cavanal Hill, located near Poteau, Oklahoma, is billed as the tallest hill in the world at 1,999 feet , based on the idea that it would be classified as a mountain if it were 2,000 feet or higher in Poteau, Oklahoma, receive billing as the "World's Tallest Hill" due to its height of 1,999 feet (609 m). Mountains in Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the southwest. In addition to the mainland, Scotland are frequently referred to as "hills" no matter what their height, as reflected in names such as the Cuillin The Cuillin are a range of rocky mountains located on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The true Cuillin are also known as the Black Cuillin to distinguish them from the Red Hills across Glen Sligachan. The Red Hills are lower and, being less rocky, have fewer scrambles or climbs Hills and the Torridon Hills. In Wales, the distinction is more a term of land use and appearance and has nothing to do with height.

A hillock A hillock or knoll is a small hill, usually separated from a larger group of hills such as a range. Hillocks are similar in their distribution and size to small mesas or buttes. The term is largely a British one. This particular formation occurs often in Great Britain and China is a small hill. Other words include knoll and (in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England) its variant, knowe.^[1]

Artificial hills may be referred to by a variety of technical names, including mound A mound is a general term for an artificial heaped pile of earth, gravel, sand, rocks, or debris. The most common use is in reference to natural earthen formation such as hills and mountains, particularly if they appear artificial. The term may also be applied to any rounded area of topographically higher elevation on any surface. Artificial and tumulus A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn. A long barrow is a long tumulus, usually for numbers of burials.

Hills may form through a number of geomorphic Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them, and more broadly, the evolution of processes controlling the topography of any planet. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do, to understand landform history and dynamics, and to predict future changes through a combination of phenomena A phenomenon , plural phenomena or phenomenons, is any observable occurrence. In popular usage, a phenomenon often refers to an extraordinary event. In scientific usage, a phenomenon is any event that is observable, however commonplace it might be, even if it requires the use of instrumentation to observe it. For example, in physics, a phenomenon: faulting In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock, across which there has been significant displacement. Large faults within the Earth's crust result from the action of tectonic forces. Energy release associated with rapid movement on active faults is the cause of most earthquakes, erosion Erosion is the process of weathering and transport of solids in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere. It usually occurs due to transport by wind, water, or ice; by down-slope creep of soil and other material under the force of gravity; or by living organisms, such as burrowing animals, in the case of bioerosion of larger landforms, such as mountains and movement and deposition of sediment Sediment is naturally-occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself by glaciers A glacier is a perennial mass of ice which moves over land. A glacier forms in locations where the mass accumulation of snow and ice exceeds ablation over many years. The word glacier comes from French via the Vulgar Latin glacia, and ultimately from Latin glacies meaning ice. The corresponding area of study is called glaciology (eg. moraines A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris which can occur in currently glaciated and formerly glaciated regions, such as those areas acted upon by a past ice age. This debris may have been plucked off the valley floor as a glacier advanced or it may have fallen off the valley walls as a result of frost wedging and drumlins A drumlin – from the Gaelic word droimnín , first recorded in 1833 – is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine. Its long axis is parallel with the movement of the ice, with the blunter end facing into the glacial movement. Drumlins may be more than 45 m (150 ft) high and, or by erosion exposing solid rock which then weathers down into a hill. The rounded peaks of hills results from the diffusive Diffusion describes the spread of particles through random motion from regions of higher concentration to regions of lower concentration. The time dependence of the statistical distribution in space is given by the diffusion equation. The concept of diffusion is tied to that of mass transfer driven by a concentration gradient, but diffusion can movement of soil Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes that include weathering and and regolith Regolith is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. It includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, some asteroids, and other planets covering the hill, a process known as downhill creep Downhill creep, or commonly just creep, is the slow downward progression of rock and soil down a low grade slope; it can also refer to slow deformation of such materials as a result of prolonged pressure and stress. Creep may appear to an observer to be continuous, but it really is the sum of numerous minute, discrete movements of slope material.

Areas that would otherwise have hills do not because of glacier cover during the Ice Age An "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual pulses of extra cold climate are termed &. The hills that existed before the ice age were worn down by the ice (and the rocks they carry) and/or the surrounding valleys and hollows were filled in with glacial drift, therefore leaving a level topography. The contrast between the flat plains of northern Indiana Indianapolis home to several major sports teams and athletic events including the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, the NBA's Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis 500 motorsports race. Indiana has several metropolitan areas with populations greater than 100,000 and a number of smaller industrial cities and towns. The state has several well-known colleges, once covered by ice, and the rugged hills of southern Indiana, where the ice never reached, is a result of this. Another example is the Driftless Zone The Driftless Area or Paleozoic Plateau is a region in the American Midwest noted mainly for its deeply carved river valleys. While primarily in southwest Wisconsin, it includes areas of southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and northwest Illinois . This region includes elevations ranging from 603 to 1,719 feet (184 to 524 m) and covers an area of 16, an island of hilly country that the ice sheets missed, surrounded by glacial plains, also in the American Midwest The Midwestern United States is one of the four geographic regions within the United States of America used by the United States Census Bureau in its reporting.

There are various specific names used to describe particular types of hill, based on appearance and method of formation. Many such names originated in one geographical region to describe a type of hill formation peculiar to that region, though the names are often adopted by geologists Geology is the science and study of the physical matter and energy that constitute the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, properties, and history of the planet's physical material, the processes by which it is formed, moved, and changed, the history of life on Earth, and human interactions with the and used in a wider geographical context. These include:

• Drumlin A drumlin – from the Gaelic word droimnín , first recorded in 1833 – is an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine. Its long axis is parallel with the movement of the ice, with the blunter end facing into the glacial movement. Drumlins may be more than 45 m (150 ft) high and – an elongated whale-shaped hill formed by glacial action.
• Butte A butte is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; it is smaller than mesas, plateaus, and tables. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill. The word "butte" comes from a French word meaning "small hill"; its – an isolated hill with steep sides and a small flat top, formed by weathering.
• Tor A tor is a rock outcrop formed by weathering, usually found on or near the summit of a hill. In the South West of England, where the term originated, it is also a word used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of Dartmoor in Devon and Bodmin Moor in Cornwall – a rock formation found on a hilltop; also used to refer to the hill itself, especially in South West England South West England is one of the regions of England. It is the largest such region in terms of area, covering 9,200 square miles including Bristol, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Five million people live there. The region includes the area often known as the West Country, and much of Wessex.
• Puy Puy is a geological term used locally in the Auvergne, France for a volcanic hill. The word derives from the Provencal puech, meaning an isolated hill, coming from Latin podium, which has given also puig in Catalan and poggio in Italian – used especially in the Auvergne Auvergne is one of the 26 administrative regions of France, France France is a founding member state of the European Union and is the largest one by area. France has been a major power for several centuries with strong cultural, economic, military and political influence in Europe and in the world. During the 17th and 18th centuries, France colonised great parts of North America; during the 19th and early 20th, to describe a conical volcanic A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface hill.
• Pingo A pingo, also called a hydrolaccolith, is a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and subarctic that can reach up to 70 metres in height and up to 600 m (2,000 ft) in diameter. The term originated as the Inuvialuktun word for a small hill. A pingo is a periglacial landform, which is defined as a nonglacial landform or process linked to – a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic The Arctic is the region around the Earth's North Pole, opposite the Antarctic region around the South Pole. The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean (which overlies the North Pole) and parts of Canada, Greenland (a territory of Denmark), Russia, the United States (Alaska), Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland and Antarctica Antarctica (pronounced /ænˈtɑrktɪkə/ ) is Earth's southernmost continent, underlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km2 (5.4 million sq mi), it is the fifth-largest continent in area after.

Historical significance

Hills have played an important role in history.

Many settlements were originally built on hills, either to avoid or curb floods, particularly if they were near a large body of water, or for defence, since they offer a good view of the surrounding land and require would-be attackers to fight uphill. For example, Ancient Rome was built on seven hills, protecting it from invaders.

In northern Europe, many ancient monuments are sited in heaps. Some of these are defensive structures (such as the hill-forts of the Iron Age), but others appear to have hardly any significance. In Britain, many churches at the tops of hills are thought to have been built on the sites of earlier pagan holy places. The National Cathedral in Washington, DC has followed this tradition and was built on the highest hill in that city.

Military significance

Hills provide a major advantage to an army, giving them an elevated firing position and forcing an opposing army to charge uphill to attack them. They may also conceal forces behind them, allowing a force to lay in wait on the crest of a hill, using that crest for cover, and firing on unsuspecting attackers as they broach the hilltop.

As a result, conventional military strategies often demand possession of high ground. Hills have become sites for many noted battles, such as the first recorded military conflict in Scotland known as the battle of Mons Graupius. Modern conflicts include the Battle of Bunker Hill (which was actually fought on Breed's Hill) in the American War for Independence and Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill in the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the American Civil War. The Battle of San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War won Americans control of Santiago. The Battle of Alesia was also fought from a hilltop fort. Fighting on Mamayev Kurgan during the Battle of Stalingrad and the Umurbrogol Pocket in the Battle of Peleliu were also examples of bloody fighting for high ground. Another recent example is the Kargil_War between India and Pakistan.

Sports and games

Hillwalking is a British English term for a form of hiking which involves the ascent of hills. The activity is usually distinguished from mountaineering as it does not involve ropes or technically difficult rock climbing, although the terms mountain and hill are often used interchangeably in Britain. Hillwalking is popular in mountainous areas such as the English Peak District or the Scottish Highlands. Many hills are categorised according to relative height or other criteria and feature on lists named after mountaineers, such as Munros (Scotland) or Wainwrights (England). Specific locating activities such as "peak bagging" (or "Munro bagging") involve climbing hills on these lists with the aim of completing (or "compleating") the list.

In golf, the terrain on golf courses is often made more rugged and hilly to make the holes harder to play. For example, the hole may be located at the top of a hill, and the course is designed specifically to make it almost impossible to allow the golf ball to rest near the top; it would roll down, and the player would have to try again.

Cheese rolling is an annual event in the West Country of England which involves rolling a wheel of cheese down a hill. Contestants stand at the top and chase the wheel of cheese to the bottom. The winner, the one who catches the cheese, gets to keep the wheel of cheese as a prize.

Gallery

See also

• Hill station
• Colluvium
• Crag and tail
• Dune
• Jack and Jill (song)
• Kame
• King of the Hill (game)
• List of famous hills
• Mountain
• Tell
• Mesa
• Moor

References

1. ^ Knowe, Random House Dictionary at dictionary.com

• Earth Sculpture; Or, The Origin of Land-forms
• The International Geography

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