Hills
Hills are terrain features that reach a higher elevation than the surrounding landscape. Hills provide both a defensive advantage to structures built on their summits as well as a greater view of their surroundings. Fictional hills may be the sites of mines, quarries, hillside burrows, windmills, watchtowers, and castles. Towns and cities are often also built on hills to avoid flooding. Farms or terraced farms may be present. In locations where hills are on a coast, the eroding action of the tides may generate sea cliffs, sea caves, and sea stacks. Rivers that flow through hill lands may create canyons and may be more prone to have rapids and waterfalls.
| Synonyms: hillocks, knolls, hill country, hillsides, bluffs, dunes, highlands |
| Example Mythonyms: Carne’s Hill, the Northern Highlands |
Designing Fictional Hills
Archetypes
Overview
Hill regions often experience a cooler and wetter climate than surrounding lowlands due to their higher elevation. This can lead to unique ecosystems with distinct plant and animal life. Forests, grasslands, and moorlands are common vegetation types in hill regions.
Hills have been inhabited by humans for millennia, offering advantages such as defensive positions for forts or castles, fertile soils for farms or terraced farms, and access to water resources. Many historic settlements and cities are located on hilltops and often religious sites or structures such as churches, temples, or oracles, are placed atop hills.
Hills can be difficult terrain to cross.
