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Home › Science › Earth Sciences › Geology › Features of Deserts

Features of Deserts

Alluvial fan:
An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped mass of alluvial deposits shed by a fast- moving mountain stream entering a broad valley or plain.
Butte:
A butte is an isolated flat-topped hill like a mesa, but smaller.
Canyon:
A canyon is a deep gorge of a river, often one flowing through a desert, but fed by water from outside.
Inselberg:
An inselberg is a steep, isolated hill with a narrow summit.
Mesa:
A mesa is a flat-topped, steep-sided plateau of horizontal strata capped by erosion-resistant rock.
Pediment:
A pediment is a gentle slope often covered with loose rock and lying below a mesa, butte, inselberg, or ridge.
Playa:
A playa is a temporary brackish (salt) lake.
Wadi:
A wadi is a usually dry desert watercourse.

Landscapes

  • Bare rock desert
  • Desert plateau with steep cliffs and deep, narrow river valleys
  • Jagged, rocky peaks
  • Sand desert
  • Stony, gravelly desert





Wind Erosion

Deflation hollow:
A deflation hollow is a worn or deepened surface in a desert caused by the wind.
Rock pavement (hamada):
A rock pavement is a flat, wind-smoothed rocky desert surface.
Rock pedestal:
A rock pedestal is a mushroom-shaped rock, often formed of horizontal layers. It is caused by sand being driven into its base by the wind.
Ventifact:
A ventifact is a stone with the surface smoothed and flattened under prolonged attack by windblown sand.
Yardangs:
Yardangs are parallel ridges of hard rock up to 15 m (50 ft.) high. They form when alternating hard and soft rock layers are upended. They are products of the wind working on softer rock.
Zeugen:
Zeugen are parallel, flat-topped ridges of hard rock up to 30 m (100 ft.) high. It is caused by sand being driven into its base by the wind.




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