{{Short description|Hilltop}} {{italic title}} [[File:Dammersfeld.jpg|thumb|The Dammersfeldkuppe, a ''kuppe'' or domed hill in the Rhön]] A '''''Kuppe''''' is the term used in German-speaking central Europe for a mountain or hill with a rounded summit that has no rock formation, such as a tor, on it. A range of such hills is called a ''Kuppengebirge''. In geology the term also refers to corresponding stratigraphic forms. The term is similar to the English topographical and geological terms, knoll and dome.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=6DhWw_cYLicC&dq=kuppe+dome&pg=PA198 ''Elsevier's Dictionary of Geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish and ...''], p. 198, by Vladimir Kotlyakov, Anna Komarova. Retrieved 5 Jul 2014.</ref> It is also analogous to the French word ''ballon'' which means a mountain with a rounded summit.
In cartography in German-speaking countries, the term is used more widely to refer to all eminences (biaxially convex landforms) i.e. including those with a more pointed appearance.
''Kuppen'' are a common feature of many ranges within the German Central Uplands including the Rhön Mountains.
== Derivation == ''Kuppe'' comes from the Middle High German language of the 18th century, probably deriving from the Late Latin/Common Roman word ''cuppa'' = "beaker", which then became commonly used in the sense of ''Haube'' ("helmet" or "covering") for a summit.
== Geomorphology and geology == ''Kuppengebirge'' ("kuppe hills") is a geomorphological term. Their formation usually arises as a combination of certain types of rock and the onset of steady erosion processes.
== Distribution == ''Kuppen'' are typical of the Central Uplands and the Prealps of Europe. For example, the many domed summits of the Fichtel Mountains or the Pohorje are called ''kuppen'', but they also occur in hilly areas. In this connexion, for example, a part of the Rhön Mountains is known as the Kuppen Rhön (''Kuppenrhön'') and ''Kuppe'' or ''Koppe'' is often part of the name of mountains and hills, e.g. the Wasserkuppe and the Schneekoppe.
Places where sedimentary beds have bulged and where rising oil or natural gas has accumulated, are also called ''kuppen''.
== References == {{Reflist}}
Category:Landforms