We explain what a hill is in geography, how they are formed and what their characteristics are. Also, 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 not higher than 100 meters in height) is called a hill. They are also called lomas, motas, hillocks, mounds, alcoves, hills or hills, although the latter term is also used to refer to elevations of up to 3000 meters in height in some Latin American countries. It is also possible that all these names pose very specific differences in each case.
In general, the hills are minor but significant elevations of the relief, which are usually very attractive to humans, not only for recreational or landscape purposes: since ancient times, many temples and sacred places were located on top of a hill or 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 the Latin collinus, which in turn derives from the word collis, with which the ancient Romans called the smaller elevations of a mountain. This voice would be related to the verb cellere, “To 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 drumlins, of glacial origin. There may even be mounds of artificial origin, generally isolated in plains and other types of topography.
Hill features
Broadly speaking, the hills are characterized by the following:
- They are elevations of the land of little size, generally no more than 100 meters high.
- They usually have Round shape and blunt peaks, unlike mountains.
- Its origins can be geological, erosive and sedimentary, depending on the region and the type of hill.
- Since ancient times, they have a cultural and strategic importance.
Examples of hills
Some examples of hills are:
- The hills of Yergueni, located in European Russia, are about 330 km long and at a height of 222 meters.
- The Getaria mouse, located in the Basque Country, Spain, on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea, and also known as Monte San Antón.
- Vaalserberg, Mount de Vaals, a 322 meter high hill in the Netherlands, constituting the highest point in the entire region.
- Teufelsberg, Devil’s Mountain, a 120-meter-high dump located in Berlin.
- The seven hills of Lisbon, on which the Portuguese capital is based, which has been given the name of “the city of the 7 hills”: San Jorge, San Vicente, San Roque, San Andrés, Santa Catalina, Santa Ana and the Chagas Hill .