Foothills

The transitional band between open lowland and true mountains — broken, uneven ground with increasing relief and increasing tree cover as elevation climbs, but without the bare rock, scree, or treeline break that marks alpine terrain proper. Diagnostic feature: you can see the mountains from here, but you are not yet on them.

Coniferous / Boreal Forest

Dense evergreen cover climbing the lower mountain slopes, canopy thickening toward the true mountains beyond.

Continental

Setting: Inland

Candidate: The foothills of the Canadian Rockies, Alberta — unverified, for your own research and confirmation before use.

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Broadleaf forest on rising, broken ground, the true mountains visible above the canopy.

Temperate

Setting: Inland

Candidate: The Blue Ridge foothills, Virginia/North Carolina — unverified, for your own research and confirmation before use.