Page 14 - ICSE GEOGRAPHY

Hill Ridge
A hill is an area of high ground. When you A ridge is a narrow, elongated range of hills,
are on a hilltop, the ground slopes down in forming a continuous elevated crest over a
all directions. Maps will depict a hill with a distance. Th e crest of the ridge is sharp with
regular closed contour line, or a series of multiple peaks interspersed with depressions.
concentric closed contour lines. Th e inside of Th e slopes of a ridge are usually steep-sided.
the smallest closed circle is the hilltop. More Th e contour lines of a ridge are elongated or
contour lines mean a higher hill. oval and closely spaced.

A B 500
600 500 400
4 500 400 300
200
3 100
2

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Contour lines representing a ridge

4 Saddle
3
A saddle is a dip or a low point between two
2 areas of higher ground. It is not necessarily
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the lower ground between two hilltops, it may
Contour lines representing a hill
simply be a dip or break along a level ridge or
Plateaus a crest. If you were in a saddle, there would

Plateaus are broad highlands that rise abruptly be higher ground in two opposite directions
from the surrounding land. Th ey have almost and lower ground in the other two directions.
fl at tops. On topographical sheets they are Maps will show a saddle with the contour lines
shown by evenly spaced contour lines that forming an hourglass or a fi gure-eight shape.
surround an area with no lines or hardly any Th e depression of a saddle is broad and low,
lines, signifying that the top is rather fl at. resembling the saddle on a horse’s back.

SADDLE
400
300
200
100

Contour lines representing a plateau Contour lines representing a saddle

concentric: having a common centre

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