scarp
1
9.1
- noun
- /skɑrp/
- Specialized
:
escarpamiento
- The hikers carefully maneuvered along the steep scarp that overlooked the valley below.
- scarps, or cliffs
- high scarp
- fault scarps
Examples
-
Many small, photo-friendly waterfalls run down this scarp.
Academic text (1999) -
Note the enormous scarp (cliff) 15 km (9 mi) high.
Academic text (1990) -
Instead, there's a scarp that just drops off into the plains.
Academic text (1991) -
The limestone scarp stretches half a mile along the river.
Fiction book (2000) -
In addition, a 200-foot-high vertical scarp remained where the waste mass had broken away from the landfill.
Academic text (1997) -
Lakshmi is surrounded on all sides by extremely steep mountains and scarps.
Academic text (1991) -
A few minutes later, we put down our bundles, Rosie takes off her vest, and we climb out to the edge of the scarp we just zigzagged up to see what we can see.
Fiction book (2001) -
Seeds and bits of beach grass deposited in the storm debris and rhizomes growing from the dune scarp develop into vegetation that traps still more sand and increases the size of the new dune.
Academic text (1990) -
As we climbed higher, the scarp revealed stunning views of the surrounding landscape.
-
The ancient scarp was a testament to the area's geological history, shaped by years of erosion.
Synonyms
438
1.0
A high, steep edge of rock or ground often by the sea
3
8.2
A long steep slope or cliff that separates higher land from lower land
A steep rocky bank beside a river or stream
How Steep
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word scarp comes from an old French word escarpe meaning 'slope' or 'steep bank'. A natural scarp is a long, steep cliff at the edge of a plateau, and the name shows that it is simply a steep face formed by erosion.