5/31/23, 9:07 AM Highland - Wikipedia

Highland
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated
mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, upland refers to a range of hills,[1] typically from 300 m
(980  ft) up to 500–600  m (1,600–2,000  ft), while highland is usually reserved for ranges of low
mountains. However, the two terms are sometimes interchangeable.

Highlands internationally
Probably the best-known area officially or unofficially referred to
as highlands in the Anglosphere is the Scottish Highlands in
northern Scotland, the mountainous region north and west of the
Highland Boundary Fault. The Highland council area is a local
government area in the Scottish Highlands and Britain's largest
local government area. Other highland or upland areas reaching
400-500 m or higher in the United Kingdom include the Southern
Uplands in Scotland, the Pennines, North York Moors, Dartmoor
and Exmoor in England, and the Cambrian Mountains in Wales. Glen Affric in the Scottish Highlands

Many countries and regions also have areas referred to as

highlands. These include parts of Afghanistan, Tibet,[2] Ethiopia, Canada, Kenya, Eritrea, Yemen,
Ghana, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Syria, Turkey and Cantabria.[3]

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 Western North Carolina), highveld, used in South Africa and Roof of the World,[4] used for
Tibet.

The central Afghan highlands are in the center of Afghanistan, mostly located between 2,000 and
3,000 m above sea level. They have a very cold winter, and a short and cool summer. These highlands
have mountain pastures during summer (sardsīr), watered by many small streams and rivers. There
are also pastures available during winter in the neighboring warm lowlands (garmsīr), which makes
the region ideal for seasonal transhumance.

The highlands in Australia are often above the elevation of 500 m. These areas often receive snowfall
in winter. Most of the highlands lead up to large alpine or sub-alpine mountainous regions such as the
Australian Alps, Snowy Mountains, Great Dividing Range, Northern Tablelands and Blue Mountains.
The most mountainous region of Tasmania is the Central Highlands area, which covers most of the
central-western parts of the state. Many of these areas are highly elevated alpine regions.

The Ozarks cover nearly 120,000 square kilometres (46,000  sq  mi), making it the most extensive
highland region between the Appalachians and Rockies. This region contains some of the oldest rocks
in North America.

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The spine of the mountains stretches across the island of New Guinea, forming the densely populated
highlands of Papua New Guinea, and the Highland Papua, Indonesia.

The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka are rain forests, where the
elevation reaches 2,500 m (8,200 ft) above sea level. The Sri
Lanka montane rain forests represent the montane and
submontane moist forests above 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in the central
highlands and in the Knuckles mountain range. Half of Sri Lanka's
endemic flowering plants and 51 percent of the endemic
vertebrates are restricted to this ecoregion.

The highlands of Iceland cover about 40% of the country and are
mostly inhospitable to humans. They are generally considered to Puncak Jaya is the highest
be any land above 500 m. mountain in Indonesia and Oceania

The mountainous natural region of the Thai highlands is found in

Northern Thailand.

The Cameron Highlands is a highland area and hill station in Northern Malaysia.

Shillong in India in the state of Meghalaya is a hill station that is surrounded by highlands. Officers of
the British Raj referred to Shillong as "The Scotland of the East".[5]

Other planets
Highland continents—or terrae—are areas of topographically unstable terrain, with high peaks and
valleys. They resemble highlands on Earth, but the term is applied to much larger areas on other
planets. They can be found on Mercury, Venus,[6] Mars, and the Moon.

See also
Highlander (disambiguation)
Plateau

References
1. "upland" (https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/glossary_U.html#upland). UCMP Glossary.
University of California Museum of Paleontology. 1995.
2. Dotson, Brandon; Gurung, Kalsang Norbu; Halkias, Georgios; Myatt, Tim, eds. (2009). "The
Tibetan Gesar Epic as Oral Literature". Contemporary Visions in Tibetan Studies: Proceedings of
the First International Seminar of Young Tibetologists (1st ed.). Chicago: Serindia Publications,
Inc. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-932476-45-3. "... for the highlanders for eastern Tibet"
3. Ross, Mars; Cooper, H. Stonehewer (1885). "The Highlands of Cantabria; or, Three days from
England". London: S.Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington .: 491. OL 20620939M (https://openlibrar
y.org/books/OL20620939M).
4. Alec, Le Sueur (2003-01-01). The hotel on the roof of the world : from Miss Tibet to Shangri-La.
RDR Books. ISBN 1571431012. OCLC 845721671 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/845721671).
5. Rao, Sachin. "Travel: Shillong, India - 'Scotland of the east' " (http://www.scotsman.com/news/trav
el-shillong-india-scotland-of-the-east-1-3481504). www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 19 February
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2017.
6. "The Highlands of Venus" (http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solar/venusland.html).
HyperPhysics. Retrieved 18 July 2014.

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