A
peak's line parent is the closest higher peak on the highest ridge leading away from the peak's "key col". A
col
In geomorphology, a col is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.Whittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 103. . It may also be called a gap. Particularly rugged and forbidding co ...
is the lowest point on the ridge between two summits and is roughly synonymous with
pass, gap, saddle and notch. The highest col of a peak is its
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 conto ...
. If there is more than one ridge which can be followed to a higher peak then the line parent is the peak closest to the key col. Usually, a line parent must meet some
prominence
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 ...
criteria, which might vary depending on the author and the location of the peak.
There are at least two other kinds of
peak parentage.
Island parentage, which is also referred to as encirclement or topographic parentage; and source parentage.
See also
*
Topographic prominence
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 cont ...
References
External links
*
Mountains
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