How big does a rock formation have to be until its called a mountain?

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How big does a rock formation have to be until its called a mountain?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

There's an interesting twist to this.

The Australian bureaucracy has set the guidelines for mountains at about 300 metres (I think it stemmed from the pre-metric period when the minimum height was 1,000 feet so that's not quite accurate.)

About 25 years ago one of the local service clubs saw their chance to raise money for charity by transforming Castle Hill, Townsville, into a mountain.

Since it was already 938 feet high they erected a cairn on top measuring another 62 feet and offered tourists the opportunity to be photographed on "Australia's newest mountain".

I'm not sure how much money they made -- I was there at the time but wasn't interested inthe gimmick -- but they later removed the cairn and Castle Mountain reverted to Castle Hill.

Answer 2

From what I read, it doesn't have to do with the size but it's called a mountain by local usage. A mound of rocks 300 feet tall could be called a mountain by the people who live around it. So there really isn't any limit on size or amount to call them mountains.