"hill" or "mountain"

[Dany]

Hello,

I'm a little confused about the usige of "hill" and "mountain"

I would say that a mountain is very big like the Mount Everest.
Hill I would rather use for a small bank in a country for example.

But what would you use for the middle?
- a small mountain?
- a big hill?


Thanks a lot in advance,
Dany

[Marylin]

According to Ecyclopedia Britannica anything 2000ft high (610 m) and over constitues a mountain. I really can't find any exact definitions of a hill except that it's smaller than a moutain. I can't imagine a hill being 1900 ft high. That's a pretty darn big hill if you ask me. A mountain is supposed to have steep and rocky sides. If you look at scientific descriptions of a mountain, they will tell you that its history goes back to tectonic forces - earthquakes, volcanos, etc. Some say a mountain is marked by having a peak ( it's called a topographic marker) while a hill doesn't have one.
In any case, those discriptions seem to be somewhat vague but the rule of thumb is excatly what you have just noticed - mountains are way bigger than hills.

[Dany]

Thanks a lot Marylin

Dany

[Tdol]

The everyday definition is relative. In a flat country, people may use the term mountain for something pretty small.

[Marylin]

Thanks a lot Marylin

Dany

You are welcome, Dany!
Love your dolphin pic.

[Dany]

Love your dolphin pic.

Thanks