Mountains are usually big, tall and majestic. They are raised portions of the Earth’s crust. A mountain can also be defined as land that is raised higher than the surrounding area. However, not all raised landforms can be called mountains. Smaller landforms that rise are called hills. Mountains usually have steep sides and tower over the surrounding land. Sometimes you may even see clouds covering their peaks. Hills are usually much smaller than mountains.
One way to distinguish between a hill and a mountain is to compare their shapes. Mountains are usually cone-shaped with a peak, while hills are more rounded and do not have a distinct peak. Another way is to look at their heights. A landform that is lower than 300 m is categorized as a hill and higher than 300 m is considered a mountain. This may vary, though. Different countries have different criteria for classifying mountains. For instance in the USA, the Watchung Mountains are less than 200 m high, while in the Himalayas, a 400 m-high mountain is called a “foothill”.
Similarly Cavanal hill in Oklahoma, US is around 600 m and is considered the world’s highest hill and Mount Wyche-proof in Australia is the world’s smallest mountain at a height of148 m.
Picture Credit : Google
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