| Summary: | The concept of geomorphological heritage can be interpreted in various ways. It represents one of the elements of the lifestyle of the local population. The relief is seen as the environment of a given population. This environment includes the immediate relief, where the places in which regular activities take place are to be found. It also includes the more distant relief, which constitutes a peripheral backdrop to these central places and contributes to providing an identity reference framework, individual or collective, for the inhabitants. These references are based on perception which, in turn, is expressed through names. The sum of these names is the result of toponymy. Likewise, the toponymy results from a social representation of that relief. It contributes to integrating the relief as part of the heritage of a population. The examples dealt with here concern a series of mountains throughout Norway, Scotland and Ireland. All these mountains share common features: they are made of basement rocks, are subject to the climatic influences of the Atlantic façade, are to be found, given their latitude (62°N to 55°N) between a mountainous glacier environment and a temperate oceanic environment, and due to the height of their summits (2,300 m to 750 m) they have only been inhabited at their base. Another common feature is the fact that they are comprised of quartzite, a rock type whose extreme hardness determines its geomorphological properties as a whole and, as a result, its basic appearance in the landscape. The aim of the paper is to show how the specific characteristics of these quartzite mountains are expressed through place names. Le concept de patrimoine géomorphologique présente plusieurs sens. Le relief constitue l’un des éléments fondamentaux du cadre de vie des habitants d’un lieu, donc de son environnement au sens strict du terme. Cet environnement intègre le relief proche, où se trouvent établis les lieux d’habitat et d’activités régulières des habitants. Il comprend aussi les reliefs lointains, ...
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