Hill

A hill is a landform a medium-sized collection in a landscape, covered mostly with rather rounded shapes and plants. It is smaller than a mountain, but usually larger than a rock or a bump. He is not usually much longer than wide, otherwise the collection is called ridge. A hill can be part of a mountain, when in the foothills have made surveys.

• 2.1 toponymy

Formation

Hill may arise

• By erosion of soil material ( mounds )
• By the pressure and the movement of ice
• By erosion of mountains
• By earthquakes and other geological activities
• By volcanism
• By impacts of asteroids or volcanic material
• By uneven wind and vegetation -related accumulation of dust, sand, etc.
• By animals ( anthill, termite hills )
• By human activity, for example grave mound
• Mine dumps ( landfills )
• Settlements, where for thousands of years houses were built on the ruins of old houses ( Tell)

Erosion and terrain

In the hills surrounding erosion attacks ( in all directions), while it acts in the mountains in only two preferred directions ( downhill, training dendritic, arborescent Gratstrukturen ). Therefore hills are mostly irregular structured as, for example, mountain ranges, hills but rounded than typical low mountain structure gentle. Increasing erosion of high mountains leaves of hills, so hill country is mostly old ( Hull landscapes), or promontory on the edge of the high mountains.

Other common form of education are Mäanderreste and former breakthroughs that give off the typical hill settlement in the Alps, cliffs ( upstream formation residues), volcanic and other monolithic Hartgesteinssreste, as well as fossil Großmoränen and other postglacial small forms ( glacial deposits ).

Hill as a settlement site

Hills were formerly preferred locations for the construction of settlements and defenses, because from there you had a view of the surrounding countryside and attackers had greater difficulties to conquer them, especially with a heavy equipment. With the growth of cities, the industrial availability of explosives and the change in the tactics of war in favor of increased mobility, such tactical advantages, however, have dissipated.

Toponymy

Hill itself as the word is attested only since the 16th century and has little effect taken in the name of treasure.

There is, however, MHG houc, which is preserved in forms Haug, Hauck - but here is a derivation from personal names as Hugo patronymic likely.

The old, widespread in southern Germany word for hill, Bühel or Pichl, is rich in the naming since the earliest times. Root is buhil OHG to MHG Bühel for, hill, hill '. In the vocabulary in use, it is still in Tirolisch / Salzburg area and Vorarlbergisch / West Swiss, where it is commonly in the dialect the word instead of the non-native, hill ' is. The variations are many and varied:

• Bühel, Buhl, Buel
• Büchl, Büchel
• Buhl in Alsace
• Mountain, this Bichel
• Pichl, Pichel
• Pühl
• Biel, Biehl, Biele
• Buckling, Beuel ( Rhine area )

Even as origin name is about Pichler, Bichler, Pichlarn, Büchler, Buhler, Böhler or forms such as

• Zumbühl, Ambiel, Oberbeul - which (up / down ) on the hill '
• Pichlbauer, Pühlhofer, Buglmeier - Bauer ( nhof ) on the hill '
• Birkenbihl, Sandbiller, width Pöhler, Lindbüchel, Sonnenbichler, Birnbiggl - detailed description of the hill

And similar widespread.

North German Hovel, Karpacz, this form is also rich:

• Hovel, Höbel, Heuvel
• Hubel, Karpacz, Hibl
• And in mixed form to Hill ': Heigl, Heugel

For persons name but a possible, also very probable derivation from Hof is always to accept.

Total is the German word atlas over 50 different names for hills that are alive in dialects. These include:

• Rhine Knipp, Low German Knap, Moselle -Nahe area Knopp, Knupp
• Donk, Bulte, Horst north for surveys in the bog and marshland
• Brink niederdt. , Grass hill '
• Bow / Koppe (probably to Latin cuppa cup ')
• Stauf / Staff, ( turned upside down ) cup ', as in Staufen, Staufenberg
• Kogel / Kofel in the Alpine region, including domed summit formations
• Humpback
• Kulm culminare Latin or Slavic * chlm
• Yardarm
• Gupf, related to Summit
• Klapf