Hill

It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains.

Geographers historically regarded mountains as hills greater than 1,000 feet (304.8 meters) above sea level.

The Oxford English Dictionary also suggests a limit of 2,000 feet (610 m) and Whittow[1] states "Some authorities regard eminences above 600 m (1,969 ft) as mountains, those below being referred to as hills."

Today, a mountain is usually defined in the UK and Ireland as any summit at least 2,000 feet or 610 meters high,[2][3][4][5][6] while the UK government's Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 defined mountainous areas (for the purposes of open access legislation) as areas above 600 meters (1,969 feet).

Hills may form through geomorphic phenomena: faulting, erosion of larger landforms such as mountains and movement and deposition of sediment by glaciers (notably moraines and drumlins or by erosion exposing solid rock which then weathers down into a hill).

These include: Many settlements were originally built on hills, either to avoid floods (particularly if they were near a large body of water), for defense (since they offer a good view of the surrounding land and require would-be attackers to fight uphill), or to avoid densely forested areas.

Some settlements, particularly in the Middle East, are located on artificial hills consisting of debris (particularly mudbricks) that has accumulated over many generations.

In Britain, many churches at the tops of hills are thought to have been built on the sites of earlier pagan holy places.

In addition to Rome, hills have played a prominent role in the history of San Francisco, with its hills being central to the city's fog and civil engineering projects today famous as tourist attractions such as the cable cars and Lombard Street.

Many hills are categorized according to relative height or other criteria and feature on lists named after mountaineers, such as Munros (Scotland) and Wainwrights (England).