col

{{short description|Lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks}}

{{other uses|Col (disambiguation)}}

File:Saslonch.jpg in the Dolomites of the Italian Alps, with the clearly visible Langkofel Col ({{lang|de|Langkofelscharte}}) left of centre]]

A col in geomorphology is the lowest point on a mountain ridge between two peaks.Whittow, John (1984). Dictionary of Physical Geography. London: Penguin, 1984, p. 103. {{ISBN|0-14-051094-X}}. It may also be called a gap or pass. Particularly rugged and forbidding cols in the terrain are usually referred to as notches. They are generally unsuitable as mountain passes, but are occasionally crossed by mule tracks or climbers' routes. Derived from the French {{lang|fr|col}} ("collar, neck") from Latin collum, "neck",{{lang|fr|[https://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/col "col"]}}, in {{lang|fr|Trésor de la langue française informatisé}} [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012. the term tends to be associated more with mountain than hill ranges.Chambers 21st Century Dictionary, Allied. The distinction with other names for breaks in mountain ridges such as saddle, wind gap or notch is not sharply defined and may vary from place to place. Many double summits are separated by prominent cols.

The height of a summit above its highest col (called the key col) is effectively a measure of a mountain's topographic prominence.

Cols lie on the line of the watershed between two mountains, often on a prominent ridge or arête. For example, the highest col in Austria, the {{lang|de|Obere Glocknerscharte}} ("Upper Glockner Col", {{Höhe|3766|AT|link=true}}) lies between the Kleinglockner ({{Höhe|3783|AT}}) and Grossglockner ({{Höhe|3798|AT}}) mountains, giving the Kleinglockner a minimum prominence of 17 metres.Willi End, Hubert Peterka (1990). {{lang|de|[http://www.rother.de/titpage/1266.php Alpenvereinsführer Glockner- und Granatspitzgruppe]}}. Munich: Bergverlag Rudolf Rother. {{ISBN|3-7633-1258-7}}.

{{gallery | width=200 height=150

|File:Brecha rolando.jpg|Brèche de Roland in the Pyrenees

|File:Aiguilles de Peuterey 001.JPG|The Peuterey Ridge on the Mt. Blanc massif. From left to right {{lang|fr|Aiguille Noire de Peuterey}} (3773 m), {{lang|fr|Brèche-sud}} (3429 m), the {{lang|fr|Dames Anglaises}} (3601 m), {{lang|fr|Brèche-central}}, {{lang|fr|L'Isolée}}, {{lang|fr|Brèche-nord}} (3491 m), {{lang|fr|Aiguille Blanche de Peuterey}} (4112 m) and {{lang|fr|Col de Peuterey}} (3934 m)

|File:Summit camp Everest.jpg|The South Col of Mount Everest, at {{convert|7,906|m|ft|abbr=on}} the upper staging point for attempts on its summit.

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