Mountains and hills

[johnlambert]

What height does a hill need to be before it is classed as a mountain?

[Quizmonster]

In Britain, the Ordnance Survey uses whatever the local name is to describe high lands. Throughout England, Wales and Ireland, it is agreed that those above 2,000 feet qualify as �mountains'. Some people maintain, however, that a mountain must have a specific �peak'; on that basis, Kinder Scout - the highest area of Derbyshire's Peak District at 2,087 feet - is just moorland rather than mountain, despite the area's name!
In Scotland, there are various names for different mountain-heights...2,000 - 2,499 feet are Grahams, 2,500 - 2,999 feet are Corbetts and 3000 feet plus are Munros. The last of these is now also applied to mountains in England, Wales and Ireland.

[Whickerman]

Have a look at the movie 'The Englishman Who Went Up A Mountain But Came Down A Hill' - great laugh about this very subject!

[Quizmonster]

Aren't 'mountain' and 'hill' reversed in that title, Whickerman? I haven't seen the film, but I understand Hugh Grant is a surveyor sent to measure a piece of high ground in Wales which the locals think is a mountain. He finds it is, in fact, only a hill, according to the official definition...ie presumably it's lower than 2,000 feet. The locals then set about raising its height so that it qualifies as a mountain at perhaps 2001 feet!
(Forgive me if I've got the story wrong.)

[Whickerman]

You're dead right Quizmonster, my apologies. Still a great movie though - not least because there was some thread of truth in it, apparently

[notrub]

No, In Britain, to be a mountain, it has to be 3000ft or over. Also, if there is another mountain next to it, there has to be a 500ft drop (or more) between the peak of both mountains to the base.