Habitat
The complex of soil, water, and plants, commonly called "cover," in which all wildlife exists. It is the "life range" which must include food and water and cover for escape, winter shelter, cover to rear young, or to escape heat or wind.

Hardness
Resistance of a mineral to abrasion or scratching.

Hare
Jackrabbits. They differ from rabbits in having generally larger ears, tail, and legs.

HCN
High Country News.

Helicite
A distorted twig-like lateral projection of calcium carbonate found in caves.

Herb
A plant that is not woody, at least above ground.

Herpetology
The study of reptiles.

Hibernation
The condition of torpor in winter.

Highway
See Street or Highway.

Hirsute
Covered by hairs.

Hisat'sinom
See Anasazi.

Historic Rock Art
Rock art made after European arrival in the Americas. Often depicts horses, which were not known in the western hemisphere until after the Spanish arrival in the 1500s.

Hogback Ridge
Any ridge with a sharp summit and steep slopes of nearly equal inclination on both flanks, and resembling in outline the back of a hog. The term is usually restricted to ridges carved from beds dipping at angles greater than 20 degrees.

Honeydew
The sugary liquid discharge of various insects, especially aphids.

Hoodoo
A tall, conical column of unconsolidated to semi consolidated material such as clay, till, or landslide debris, produced by differential erosion in a region of sporadic heavy rainfall (as in a badlands or a desert wash), and usually capped by a flat, hard boulder that shielded the underlying softer material from erosion.

Hoop Tent
A hoop or "tube" tent offers a good combination of weight and weather resistance as long as you are camped where they can be adequately staked.

Horn
A high pyramidal peak with steep sides formed by the intersecting walls of three or more cirques.

Hot Spring
Hot springs are closely related to geysers, but their underground channel systems permit rapid circulation of water.

Hydrothermal Alteration
An alteration of minerals or rocks by the action of superheated mineral-rich fluids, usually water that has been heated to very high temperatures within a crystallizing magma.