Land is not flat everywhere. Some land goes up high, and some dips down low. These shapes of the land are called landforms.
Key idea
A mountain is very high land with steep sides. A hill is lower and rounder. A valley is the low land between hills or mountains.
Why it works
Rain and melting snow run down the sides of mountains and hills. The water gathers in the low land between them, so a river often flows along a valley's bottom, and over a very long time the river can make the valley deeper.
Worked example: The highest mountain
What is the highest mountain on Earth?
- Mount Everest is in Asia, in the Himalaya mountains.
- Its top is about 29,000 feet (8,849 meters) above the sea.
Answer: Mount Everest.
Common mistake
Children call any bump a mountain, or think a valley is a river. A valley is the land; the river is the water that runs through it.
For the grown-up. Make landforms with a blanket or play dough: bunch it up high for a mountain, low and round for a hill, and leave a dip between for a valley.