escarpment
Cliff separating plateaus
An escarpment is a long, steep slope or cliff separating two relatively level areas of different elevations.
Escarpments form through geological processes—erosion, faulting, or tectonic activity—and often mark the edge of a plateau or ridge: The trail climbed the escarpment to reach the high mesa.
In military contexts, an escarpment can serve as a natural defensive barrier.
Steep rock face
- bluffCalculated false front
- cragSteep rugged outcrop
- rockfaceExposed cliff surface
- faceHead's anterior surface
ledge · overhang · dropoff · scar · abyss · chasm · gorge · ravine
Asymmetrical tilted-rock ridge
- mesaFlat-topped steep-sided elevation
- butteIsolated flat-topped hill
- torHigh rocky outcrop
- ridgeNarrow raised strip
bluff · promontory · hogback · plateau · tableland · highland · upland · foothill
Attributing blame to another
- erosionGradual wearing away
- strataParallel geological layers
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
- outcropSurfacing native stone
bedrock · geomorphology · monocline · anticline · syncline · fault-line · uplift · tectonics
precipice
Steep rock face
face · ledge · overhang · dropoff · scar · abyss · chasm · gorge · ravine · pinnacle
cuesta
Asymmetrical tilted-rock ridge
ridge · bluff · promontory · hogback · plateau · tableland · highland · upland · foothill · knoll
faulting
Attributing blame to another
- erosionGradual wearing away
- strataParallel geological layers
- sedimentationParticles settling in liquid
outcrop · bedrock · geomorphology · monocline · anticline · syncline · fault-line · uplift · tectonics · weathering
incline
Angled rising surface
declivity · acclivity · pitch · grade · rise · descent · angle · tilt · bank · face
edge
Boundary or sharpness
demarcation · frontier · limit · perimeter · brink · threshold · verge · rim · cusp · divide
- spacespace, sun, moon, stars, star
- landformsmountain, cliff, valley, volcano, mountain ridge
- African landscapesSahara, Serengeti, savanna, Sahel, Kalahari
- African Safarielephant, elephants, lions, zebras, zebra
- British Countrysidehedgerow, village, hedgerows, hamlet, moorland
- Cliffscliff, bluff, crag, precipice, cliff face
escarpmentgentle slope
Gradual land elevation
plain · rolling hills · lowland · dene · piedmont
escarpmentflatland
Level, unvaried terrain
level ground · valley floor · peneplain · prairie · steppe