A ridge is a long, narrow raised section that runs along a surface. The most common example is a mountain ridge: a chain of high points connected by elevated land, like the spine of a long creature stretching across the landscape. When hikers walk along a ridge, they're traveling on top of that raised area, often with valleys dropping away on both sides.

Ridges appear in many contexts. The roof of a house has a ridge at its peak, where the two sloping sides meet at the top. You have ridges on your fingertips: those tiny raised lines that form your unique fingerprints. Ocean floors have underwater ridges where tectonic plates pull apart and new seafloor forms. Even a field plowed for planting shows ridges: the raised rows of soil between the furrows.

The word suggests something elevated and elongated rather than rounded like a hill or pointed like a mountain summit. A ridge runs along rather than just going up. In weather, a high-pressure ridge brings clear skies and warm weather, while a low-pressure trough brings storms. Understanding ridges helps explain both the land beneath our feet and the weather above our heads.