geomorphology Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or n ...

, a col is the lowest point on a mountain

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

between two

peaks Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 103. . It may also be called a gap. Particularly rugged and forbidding cols in the terrain are usually referred to as notches. They are generally unsuitable as

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

es, but are occasionally crossed by

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...

tracks or climbers' routes. The term col tends to be associated more with mountain rather than hill ranges. It is derived from the French ''col'' ("collar, neck") from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''collum'', "neck". The height of a summit above its highest col (called the

key col In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

) is effectively a measure of a mountain's topographic prominence. Cols lie on the line of the drainage divide, watershed between two mountains, often on a prominent ridge or arête. For example, the highest col in Austria, the ''Obere Glocknerscharte'' ("Upper Glockner Col", ), lies between the Kleinglockner () and Grossglockner () mountains, giving the Kleinglockner a minimum prominence of 17 metres.Willi End, Hubert Peterka: ''Alpenvereinsführer Glockner- und Granatspitzgruppe'', Bergverlag Rudolf Rother, Munich, 1990.

/ref> The majority of cols are unnamed and are either never transited or only crossed in the course of negotiating a ridge line. Many double summits are separated by prominent cols. The distinction with other names for breaks in mountain ridges such as saddle, wind gap or notch is not sharply defined and may vary from place to place.

References

External links

{{Commons, Mountain saddles, Col
Illustrated Glossary of Alpine Mountain Landforms: Col
Retrieved 16 August 2015. Landforms Oronyms

See also

References

External links