slope wash — A collective term for non fluvial, incipient alluvial processes (e.g., overland flow, minor rills) that detach, transport, and deposit sediments down hill and mountain slopes. Related sediments (slope alluvium) exhibit nominal sorting or… … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
alluvium — Unconsolidated, clastic material subaerially deposited by running water, including gravel, sand, silt, clay, and various mixtures of these. Compare: colluvium, slope alluvium. HP … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
alluvium — A general term for clay, silt, sand, gravel, or similar unconsolidated material deposited during comparatively recent geologic time by a stream or other body of running water as a sorted or semisorted sediment in the bed of the stream or on… … Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology
valley-side alluvium — A concave slope wash deposit at the base of a hill slope, mountain slope, terrace escarpment, etc., that may or may not include the alluvial toe slope. Compare: base slope, slope alluvium. HP … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
head slope — [ geomorphology ] A geomorphic component of hills consisting of a laterally concave area of a hillside, especially at the head of a drainageway, resulting in converging overland water flow (e.g., sheet wash); head slopes are dominated by… … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
base slope — [ geomorphology ] A geomorphic component of hills consisting of the concave to linear slope (perpendicular to the contour) which, regardless of the lateral shape is an area that forms an apron or wedge at the bottom of a hillside dominated… … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
nose slope — [ geomorphology ] A geomorphic component of hills consisting of the projecting end (laterally convex area) of a hillside, resulting in predominantly divergent overland water flow (e.g., sheet wash); contour lines generally form convex… … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
meta-stable slope — (not recommended: obsolete) A slope that is relatively stable at the present time, but may become active if the environmental balance is disturbed, for instance, by road construction or destruction of vegetation. A metastable slope is often … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
geomorphic component - hills — A set of fundamental, three dimensional areas and positions that geomorphically define a hill or ridge. In descending topographic order, the geomorphic components are interfluve (stable summit area) ; crest (unstable summit converged… … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
crest — 1) a) The commonly linear, narrow top of a ridge, hill, or mountain. It is appropriately applied to elevated areas where retreating backslopes are converging such that these high areas are almost exclusively composed of convex shoulders.… … Glossary of landform and geologic terms
