An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escarpment''. Some sources differentiate the two terms, with ''escarpment'' referring to the margin between two

landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...

s, and ''scarp'' referring to a cliff or a steep slope. In this usage an escarpment is a ridge which has a gentle slope on one side and a steep scarp on the other side. More loosely, the term ''scarp'' also describes a zone between a coastal lowland and a continental plateau which shows a marked, abrupt change in elevation caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau.

Formation and description

Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks, or by movement of the

Earth's crust Earth's crust is Earth's thin outer shell of rock, referring to less than 1% of Earth's radius and volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. The ...

at a

geologic fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

. The first process is the more common type: the escarpment is a transition from one series of sedimentary rocks to another series of a different age and composition. Escarpments are also frequently formed by faults. When a fault displaces the ground surface so that one side is higher than the other, a fault scarp is created. This can occur in

dip-slip faults In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

, or when a

strike-slip fault In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...

brings a piece of high ground adjacent to an area of lower ground. Cuesta schematic1

Earth is not the only planet where escarpments occur. They are believed to occur on other planets when the crust

contracts A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

, as a result of cooling. On other Solar System bodies such as

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, Mars, and the Moon, the Latin term rupes is used for an escarpment.

Erosion

When sedimentary beds are tilted and exposed to the surface, erosion and weathering may occur. Escarpments erode gradually and over

geological time The geologic time scale, or geological time scale, (GTS) is a representation of time based on the rock record of Earth. It is a system of chronological dating that uses chronostratigraphy (the process of relating strata to time) and geochronol ...

. The mélange tendencies of escarpments results in varying contacts between a multitude of rock types. These different rock types weather at different speeds, according to Goldich dissolution series so different stages of deformation can often be seen in the layers where the escarpments have been exposed to the elements.

Significant escarpments

Africa

* Elgeyo escarpment ( Great Rift Valley) *

Great Escarpment, Southern Africa The Great Escarpment is a major topographical feature in Africa that consists of steep slopes from the high central Southern African plateauAtlas of Southern Africa. (1984). p. 13. Reader's Digest Association, Cape Town downward in the direction ...

**Including the Drakensberg and

God's Window Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve (or Motlatse Canyon Provincial Nature Reserve) is situated in the Drakensberg escarpment region of eastern Mpumalanga, South Africa. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of the Ohrig ...

in Mpumalanga's Eastern Escarpment * Bandiagara Escarpment ( Mali) * Zambezi Escarpment ( Zambia) *

East coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

, Madagascar

Antarctica

Usas Escarpment Usas Escarpment () is an expansive but discontinuous north-facing escarpment in Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica. It is about long, extending roughly west to east along the 76th parallel south from where the elevation of the snow surface descends towa ...

Asia

* Alam-Kuh, Iran *

Sharon Escarpment The Sharon Escarpment or Sharon CliffE. Galil, D. Zviely"Geo-archaeological markers reveal magnitude and rates of Israeli coastal cliff erosion and retreat" ''Journal of Coastal Conservation'', Vol. 23, Issue. 4, 2019, pp. 747-758, is the ...

, Israel *

Tuwaiq Jabal Tuwaiq ( ar, جَبَل طُوَيْق, Tuwaiq Mountain) is a narrow escarpment that cuts through the plateau of Najd in central Arabia, running approximately from the southern border of Al-Qasim in the north, to the northern edge of the ...

, Saudi Arabia *

Vindhya Range The Vindhya Range (also known as Vindhyachal) () is a complex, discontinuous chain of mountain ridges, hill ranges, highlands and plateau escarpments in west-central India. Technically, the Vindhyas do not form a single mountain range in the ...

, India * Western Ghats, India * Wulian Feng, China

Australia and New Zealand

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Great Escarpment, Australia The Great Escarpment in eastern Australia is an escarpment that runs east of the Great Dividing Range along most of the east of the continent. It was created due to formation of a new continental margin in the Mesozoic, followed by tectonic u ...

** Darling Scarp **

Dorrigo Plateau The Dorrigo Plateau is a plateau in the Northern Tablelands and New England regions of New South Wales, Australia. The plateau forms part of the Great Dividing Range and is sometimes referred to as the Dorrigo and Guy Fawkes Plateau. The highes ...

** Illawarra Escarpment ** Lake George Escarpment ** Nullarbor Escarpment * New Zealand ** The western slope of the

Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

(along the Alpine Fault) ** The Kaimai escarpment, above the Hauraki Plains ** The Paekākāriki escarpment between

Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from ...

and

Pukerua Bay Pukerua Bay is a small seaside suburb at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand. In local government terms it is the northernmost suburb of Porirua City, in the Wellington Region. It is 12 km north of the Porirua City Centre on ...

(with State Highway 59 and the North Island Main Trunk).

Europe

* England ** Cotswold escarpment ** Chiltern escarpment ** North Downs ** South Downs ** A common placename denominating an escarpment in England is "edge" as in *** Alderley Edge *** Edge Hill famous as the place of the first battle of the English Civil War *** Kinver Edge *** The Lincoln Edge ***

Stanage Edge Stanage Edge, or simply Stanage (from "stone edge") is a gritstone escarpment in the Peak District, England, famous as a location for climbing. It lies a couple of miles to the north of Hathersage, and the northern part of the edge forms the b ...

*** Wenlock Edge * Scotland ** Quiraing, Trotternish,

Isle of Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

* Wales **

Eglwyseg Escarpment The Eglwyseg valley is an area to the north east of Llangollen in Denbighshire, Wales; it is within the boundaries of Llantysilio Community. The name also refers to a widely scattered hamlet in the valley. Formerly the old township of Eglwysegl ...

, Llangollen, North Wales (and most impressive example in the UK). **

Black Mountain (range) The Black Mountain ( cy, Y Mynydd Du) is a mountain range in South, Mid and West Wales, straddling the county boundary between Carmarthenshire and Powys (formerly Brecknockshire) and forming the westernmost range of the Brecon Beacons National ...

** Black Mountains, Wales **

Pen y Fan Pen y Fan () is the highest peak in South Wales, situated in the Brecon Beacons National Park. At above sea-level, it is also the highest British peak south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia. It is the highest point (county top) of the historic cou ...

* France ** La

Côte d'Or Côte is a British cafe chain founded by Richard Caring, Andy Bassadone, Chris Benians and Nick Fiddler in Wimbledon, London Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross ...

is famous for its wines and has given its name to a département,

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.Pays de Bray, a clay vale enclosed by chalk escarpments. * Sweden, Estonia and Russia ** Baltic Klint ** Gotland–Saaremaa Klint ** South Småland- Sub-Cambrian escarpment * Malta ** Victoria Lines ** SierraEscarpmentCA

North America

* Florida Escarpment, Gulf of Mexico *

Sigsbee Escarpment The Sigsbee Escarpment is a major bathymetric feature of the Gulf of Mexico, extending for about . It separates the lower continental slope of the northern gulf from the abyssal plain of the Sigsbee Deep and has up to of relief across it. It has ...

, Gulf of Mexico * Canada and the United States ** Manitoba Escarpment ( Manitoba, Saskatchewan) ** Pembina Escarpment ( Manitoba, North Dakota) **

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

((east to west)

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois) **

Eardley Escarpment The Gatineau Hills (french: Collines de la Gatineau) are a geological formation in Canada that makes up part of the southern tip of the Canadian Shield, and acts as the northern shoulder of the Ottawa Valley. They are also the foothills of th ...

( Mattawa Fault,

Gatineau Park Gatineau Park (french: Parc de la Gatineau) is a federal park located in the Outaouais region of Quebec, Canada. Administered by the National Capital Commission as part of the National Capital Region, Gatineau Park is a wedge of land extending ...

, Quebec) ** Onondaga (geological formation) ( Ontario and

) ** Devil's Rock (

Lake Temiskaming Lake Timiskaming or Lake Temiskaming (french: Lac Témiscamingue) is a large freshwater lake on the provincial boundary between Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The lake, which forms part of the Ottawa River, is in length and covers an area of a ...

, Ontario) ** Scarborough Bluffs ( Toronto, Ontario) * United States ** Allegheny Front ( West Virginia- Maryland- Pennsylvania) **

Blue Ridge Escarpment The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. The mountain range is located in the Eastern United States, and extends 550 miles southwest from southern Pennsylvania through Maryland, West Virgin ...

( North Carolina– Virginia) **

Balcones Fault The Balcones Fault or Balcones Fault Zone is an area of largely normal faulting Edwards Aquifer in the U.S. state of Texas that runs roughly from the southwest part of the state near Del Rio to the north-central region near Dallas along Inte ...

( Texas) ** Bergen Hill ( New Jersey) ** Black River Escarpment ( Wisconsin) **

Book Cliffs The Book Cliffs are a series of desert mountains and cliffs in western Colorado and eastern Utah in the western United States. They are so named because the cliffs of Cretaceous sandstone that cap many of the south-facing buttes appear similar ...

( Colorado– Utah) **

Caprock Escarpment The Caprock Escarpment is a term used in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico to describe the geographical transition point between the level High Plains of the Llano Estacado and the surrounding rolling terrain. In Texas, the escarpment stretch ...

( Texas) **

Catskill Escarpment The Catskill Escarpment, often referred to locally as just the Escarpment or the Great Wall of Manitou, and known as the Catskill Front to geologists, is the range forming the northeastern corner of the Catskill Mountains in Greene and Ulster cou ...

(

) ** The Chinese Wall ( Montana) ** Cody Scarp ( Florida) ** Devil's Slide ( California) ** Helderberg Escarpment (

) ** Hell's Half Acre ( Wyoming) **

Knobstone Escarpment The Knobstone Escarpment is a rugged geologic region in Southern Indiana. Physically, the Knobstone Escarpment is the most rugged terrain in Indiana. The highest hill in the area is Weed Patch Hill, with an elevation The elevation of a geogra ...

( Indiana) **

Lewiston Hill Lewiston Hill (also known as the "Clearwater Escarpment") is a large sloping escarpment in the northwest United States, located immediately north of the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake rivers in north central Idaho. Residents of the nearb ...

( Idaho- Washington) ** Magnesian Escarpment ( Wisconsin) **

Mescalero Ridge The Mescalero Ridge forms the western edge of the great Llano Estacado, a vast plateau or tableland in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Texas. It is the western equivalent of the Caprock Escarpment, which defines the eastern edge of ...

( New Mexico) ** Missouri Escarpment ( North Dakota) ** Mogollon Rim ( Arizona) **

Muldraugh Hill Muldraugh Hill is an escarpment in Bullitt, Hardin, Jefferson, and Nelson counties of central Kentucky separating the Bluegrass on the north and north-east from the Pennyrile on the south and south-west. This escarpment fades into the Pottsville ...

( Kentucky) ** Pine Ridge ( Nebraska– South Dakota) **

Portage Escarpment The Portage Escarpment is a major landform in the U.S. states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York which marks the boundary between the Till Plains to the north and west and the Appalachian Plateau to the east and south. The escarpment is the defin ...

( Ohio) ** Potrero Hills in ( California) ** Pottsville Escarpment ( Kentucky– Tennessee) ** The Rimrocks ( Montana) **

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...

eastern slope ( California) * The Caribbean **

Bahamas Escarpment The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the archi ...

( Bahamas)

South America

* Brazil ** Great Escarpment, Brazil *** Serra do Mar ( São Paulo) **

Serra da Mantiqueira The Mantiqueira Mountains (Portuguese: ''Serra da Mantiqueira iterally: Mantiqueira Mountains Chain') are a mountain range in Southeastern Brazil, with parts in the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro. It rises abruptly from the ...

( São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro) * Chile ** West Andean Escarpment

References

{{Reflist Slope landforms