The camera pans across a mountainous landscape. Orange lines highlight the smaller tree covered foothills that are nearby. Yellow lines highlight the tall snowy peaks in the distance.

Sam: Tectonic forces create mountain ranges, but mountains don't just pop up in the middle of a flat field. The highest peaks are found in the main ranges of a mountain chain. As you move further away from these peaks, you find smaller peaks and hills. These are called foothills. Foothills are usually the youngest part of the mountain range. Tectonic forces just started to push them up, but over time, they might become just as high as the main ranges.