line parent

{{Short description|Term in topography}}

A peak's line parent is the closest higher peak on the highest ridge leading away from the peak's "key col". A col is the lowest point on the ridge between two summits and is roughly synonymous with pass, gap, saddle and notch. The highest col of a peak is its key col. If there is more than one ridge which can be followed to a higher peak then the line parent is the peak closest to the key col. Usually, a line parent must meet some prominence criteria, which might vary depending on the author and the location of the peak.{{cite web |title=Explanation of line parent |publisher=Bivouac.com |url=http://bivouac.com/PgxPg.asp?PgxId=280 |accessdate=2011-06-05}}{{cite web |title=Line parent |publisher=LoJ.com |url=http://listsofjohn.com/PeakStats/glossary.html#Line |accessdate=2011-06-05}}{{cite web |url=http://www.peakbagger.com/help/glossary.aspx#nthp |title=Peakbagger.com Help and Glossary: Line Parent |publisher=Peakbagger.com |accessdate=2001-08-31}}

There are at least two other kinds of peak parentage: island parentage, which is also referred to as encirclement or topographic parentage, and source parentage.