Gaps and passes...

[fajrdrako]

It was fascinating to see people discussing gaps and passes when I asked about it earlier today. Looking at Wikipedia, it seems there is no geological difference. In a unreferenced passage that is quoted all over the net, they say:

In a range of hills, or especially of mountains, a pass (also gap, notch, col, saddle, bwlch, brennig or bealach) is a saddle point in between two areas of higher elevation.

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And Wikipedia makes this interesting point:

There are many words for pass in the English-speaking world. In the United States, the southern Appalachians more commonly use the word gap, and notch is often heard in New England. Scotland has the Gaelic term bealach (anglicised "Balloch"). In the Lake District of north west England, the term hause is often used...

So it looks as if they are essentially the same thing, with regional differences in terminology cropping up.