We explain what a hill is in geography, how they are formed and what their characteristics are. Plus, examples from around the world.
What is a hill?
In geography, a certain type of elevation of the relief that is not very high (generally no higher than 100 meters in height) is called a hill. They are also called hills, motes, mounds, mounds, alcores, hills or hills, although this last term is also used to refer to elevations up to 3000 meters high in some Latin American countries. It is also possible that all these names pose very specific differences in each case.
In general, the hills They are minor but significant elevations of the relief which tend to be very attractive to humans, not only for recreational or landscape purposes: since ancient times, many temples and sacred places were located at the top of a hill or a hill, since in this way they could be symbolically closer. of the gods.
Something similar happened with cities and towns built on top of hills and hills, to prevent floods or with the aim of having an overview of the surroundings, in case of military invasions or other dangers.
In fact, the word “hill” comes from Latin collinuswhich in turn derives from the word Colliswith which the ancient Romans called the smaller elevations of a mountain. This voice would be related to the verb cellere“rise.”
The hills are the result of different geomorphic and erosive processes such as the emergence of faults that “wrinkle” the Earth's crust, the erosion of higher elevations such as mountains or peaks, or even the sedimentary accumulation, as in the case of moraines and drumlinsof glacial origin. There may even be mounds of artificial origin, usually isolated on plains and other types of topography.
See also: Continental relief
Features of the hills
Broadly speaking, the hills are characterized by the following:
- They are small terrain elevations, generally not exceeding 100 meters in height.
- They usually have rounded shape and blunt tops, unlike mountains.
- Its origins can be geological, erosive and sedimentary depending on the region and the type of hill.
- Since ancient times, they have had a cultural and strategic importance.
Examples of hills
Some examples of hills are the following:
- The Yergueni Hills located in European Russia, are about 330 km long and are at a height of 222 meters.
- The mouse of Getaria located in the Basque Country, Spain, on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea, and also known as Monte San Antón.
- Vaalserberg the Vaals Mountain, a 322-meter-high hill in the Netherlands, constituting the highest point in the entire region.
- Teufelsberg Devil's Mountain, a 120-meter-high waste dump located in Berlin.
- The seven hills of Lisbon on which the Portuguese capital sits, which has been given the name “the city of the 7 hills”: San Jorge, San Vicente, San Roque, San Andrés, Santa Catalina, Santa Ana and Chagas Hill .
Continue with: Plateaus
References
- “Hill” on Wikipedia.
- “Glossary of geography” at the Complutense University of Madrid.
- “Glossary of geographical terms” in the Library of the National Congress of Chile.
- “Etymology of hill” in Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
