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, typically from 300 m (980 ft) up to 600 m (2,000 ft), while highland is usually reserved for ranges of low mountains . However, the two terms are interchangeable and also include regions that are transitional between hilly and mountainous terrain.
17-576: The Shropshire Hills are a dissected upland area and one of the natural regions of England. They lie wholly within the county of Shropshire and encompass several distinctive and well-known landmarks, such as the Long Mynd , Wenlock Edge , The Wrekin and the Clees . The Shropshire Hills lie south of the county town of Shrewsbury between the Welsh border and Much Wenlock , extending as far south as Ludlow . To
34-592: 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. The spine of the mountains stretches across
51-975: 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 m or higher in the United Kingdom include the Southern Uplands in Scotland, the Pennines , North York Moors , Dartmoor and Exmoor in England , and
68-677: The Cambrian Mountains in Wales . Many countries and regions also have areas referred to as highlands . These include parts of Afghanistan , Tibet , Ethiopia , Canada , Kenya , Eritrea , Yemen , Ghana , Nigeria , Papua New Guinea , Syria , Turkey and Cantabria . Similar 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
85-591: The Moon . Eritrean Highlands The Eritrean Highlands are a mountainous region in central Eritrea . Bordered to the south by the Mareb River , it is a northern continuation of the Ethiopian Highlands . The region has seen tremendous deforestation since the colonial period , which began in the late 19th century. The Highlands are at particular risk of deforestation and associated soil erosion . Furthermore,
102-777: The Red Sea coast of Eritrea. Flowing towards Sudan and the Nile are the Gash and Setit rivers, while towards Sudan without reaching the Nile are the Barka and Anseba rivers. The eastern escarpment of Eritrea is drained by numerous small streams. The highest point in Eritrea is located in the Eritrean Highlands at Emba Soira , 3,018 m (9,902 ft) above sea level. Many believe that forest cover in
119-638: The United States (notably Western North Carolina ), highveld , used in South Africa and Roof of the World , 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
136-514: The natural environment . The NCA covers an area of 107,902 hectares (416.61 sq mi) and measure around 50 kilometres (31 mi) from west to east and north to south. The dominant pattern of the hills is a series of southwest to northeast ridges, scarps and valleys. They are characterized by steep, rounded 'whaleback' hills, often crowned with open moorland, with woodland dressing the steeper slopes. There are scattered farms in dales and sheltering in valleys; larger settlements being confined to
153-483: The Eritrean Highlands was as high as 30% but has since declined to 1%; however, others including Louise Latt have suggested that there has never been such a dramatic decline in forest cover. The eastern edge of the Highlands falls off dramatically towards the Red Sea which causes two climatic systems to overlap. This region is oft noted for its perennial forest cover. This is also the region that Eritrea's Merara coffee
170-592: The Stretton Valley and A49 corridor. Roughly a half of the NCA lies within the Shropshire Hills AONB . In addition, the region contains two Special Areas of Conservation (The Stiperstones & The Hollies SAC; Downton Gorge SAC) and a national nature reserve (The Stiperstones NNR) as well as 73 Sites of Special Scientific Interest , the latter totalling 4,893 hectares (12,090 acres). Its major watercourses are
187-629: 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 be any land above 500 m. 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
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#1732837803315204-593: 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
221-563: 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
238-690: The north they are bounded by the Shropshire, Cheshire and Staffordshire Plain, to the east by the Severn Valley and Mid Severn Sandstone Plateau , to the southeast by Knighton and the Teme Valley and to the southwest by the Clun and North West Herefordshire Hills. The Shropshire Hills are listed as Natural Area No. 42 and also as National Character Area 65 by Natural England , the UK Government's advisor on
255-643: The region, lying south of the Sahel are at particular risk of desertification and frequent drought. The Highlands experience, as most tropical regions, two seasons; the rainy season ( kremti ) is from June–September while the dry season ( haggai ) is from September to June. The average temperature for Asmara , which is 2,340 m (7,677 ft) above sea level, is approximately 16 °C (61 °F), but other places range from about 10 to 25 °C (50 to 77 °F). The Eritrean Highlands are drained by four major rivers towards Sudan , and by several smaller rivers into
272-576: The rivers Corve , Onny , Severn and Teme and the Ledwyche and Rea brooks. The average elevation is 84 metres (276 ft); the highest point is Brown Clee Hill at 540 metres (1,770 ft). Significant summits in the Shropshire Hills include: 52°31′19″N 2°43′08″W / 52.522°N 2.719°W / 52.522; -2.719 Highland Probably the best-known area officially or unofficially referred to as highlands in
289-525: 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". 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 , Mars , and
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