Col

A col in geomorphology is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.

[1] Particularly rugged and forbidding cols in the terrain are usually referred to as notches.

They are generally unsuitable as mountain passes, but are occasionally crossed by mule tracks or climbers' routes.

Cols lie on the line of the watershed between two mountains, often on a prominent ridge or arête.

For example, the highest col in Austria, the Obere Glocknerscharte ("Upper Glockner Col", 3,766 m (AA)) lies between the Kleinglockner (3,783 m above sea level (AA)) and Grossglockner (3,798 m above sea level (AA)) mountains, giving the Kleinglockner a minimum prominence of 17 metres.