 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Foothills" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(September 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Foothills orpiedmont aregeographically defined as gradual increases inelevation at the base of amountain range, higherhill range or anupland area. They are a transition zone betweenplains and lowrelief hills and the adjacenttopographically highermountains, hills, and uplands.[1] Frequently foothills consist ofalluvial fans,coalesced alluvial fans, anddissected plateaus.
Foothills primarily border mountains, especially those which are reached through low ridges that increase in size closer and closer to the mountain,[2] but can also border uplands and higher hills.[3]
Areas where foothills exist, or areas commonly referred to as the foothills, include the:
Another word for a foothill region is "piedmont", derived from "foot of the mount" inRomance languages.[4] ThePiedmont region of Italy lies in the foothills of theAlps, and several other foothills in other parts of the world arecalled "piedmont", and include:
Ecosystems of piedmonts (foothills) are often known as submontane zones, relating to the highermontane ecosystems.
