barranca
Steep-sided dry gorge
A barranca is a deep ravine or gorge, especially one carved by water in arid or semi-arid terrain.
The word comes from Spanish and is used primarily in the American Southwest and Latin America: The trail descended into a narrow barranca.
Also spelled barranco.
Deep, narrow valley
- canyonDeep river-cut gorge
- gullyChannel carved by flowing water
- arroyoSeasonal desert watercourse
- gulchSteep narrow ravine
chasm · defile · coulee · wash · draw · notch · cleft · rift
Channel for flowing liquid
- streambedRiver's carved floor
- arroyoSeasonal desert watercourse
- washClean using liquid
- runoffExcess water drainage
flash flood · drainage · tributary · channel · riverbed · watershed · dry wash · scouring
Vertical rock wall
- precipiceSteep rock face
- escarpmentSteep slope dividing elevations
- slopeAngled terrain or steepness
- inclineAngled rising surface
dropoff · declivity · gradient · descent · bank · ridge · bluff · crag
Gradual wearing away
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- alluviumWater-deposited loose sediment
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- strataParallel geological layers
outcrop · limestone · sandstone · weathering · downcutting · incision · fluvial · deposition
gorge
Deep, narrow valley
gulch · chasm · defile · coulee · wash · draw · notch · cleft · rift · crevasse
watercourse
Channel for flowing liquid
runoff · flash flood · drainage · tributary · channel · riverbed · watershed · dry wash · scouring
cliff
Vertical rock wall
- precipiceSteep rock face
- escarpmentSteep slope dividing elevations
- slopeAngled terrain or steepness
incline · dropoff · declivity · gradient · descent · bank · ridge · bluff · crag · ledge
erosion
Gradual wearing away
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- alluviumWater-deposited loose sediment
- bedrockSolid stone underground
strata · outcrop · limestone · sandstone · weathering · downcutting · incision · fluvial · deposition · fault
mesa
Flat-topped steep-sided elevation
chaparral · scrubland · badlands · arroyos · high desert · tableland · foothill · sierra · llano · altiplano
- landformsmountain, cliff, valley, volcano, mountain ridge
- Temporary Watersephemeral stream, wadi, arroyo, dry riverbed, dry wash