Highland (geography)

The term highland(s) or upland(s) is used to denote any mountainous region or elevated mountainous plateau. Generally speaking, the term upland (or uplands) tends to be used for ranges of hills, typically up to 500-600m, and highland (or highlands) for ranges of low mountains.

The Scottish Highlands refers to the mountainous region north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault. Many countries have areas that are officially or unofficially referred to as highlands. Other than Scotland, these include parts of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Syria and Nova Scotia (the latter being Latin for 'New Scotland' due to its resemblance to the country). The Highland council area is a local government area in the Scottish Highlands and the largest local government area in Scotland.

Synonymous terms used in other countries include high country, used in New Zealand, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Southern Queensland in Australia, and parts of the United States (notably North Carolina), and highveld, used in South Africa.

Highland is often also used to describe a particular mountain......
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