A valley is an elongated low area often running between

hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

, which will typically contain a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long large streams ...

running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is di ...

of the land surface by rivers or streams over a very long period. Some valleys are formed through erosion by glacial ice. These glaciers may remain present in valleys in high mountains or polar areas. At lower latitudes and altitudes, these glacially formed valleys may have been created or enlarged during

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

s but now are ice-free and occupied by streams or rivers. In

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one ...

areas, valleys may be entirely dry or carry a watercourse only rarely. In areas of limestone bedrock,

dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ...

s may also result from drainage now taking place

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

rather than at the surface.

Rift valley A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear dep ...

s arise principally from earth movements, rather than erosion. Many different types of valleys are described by geographers, using terms that may be global in use or else applied only locally.

Formation of valleys

Valleys may arise through several different processes. Most commonly, they arise from

over long periods by moving water and are known as river valleys. Typically small valleys containing streams feed into larger valleys which in turn feed into larger valleys again, eventually reaching the ocean or perhaps an internal drainage basin. In polar areas and at high altitudes, valleys may be eroded by

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s; these typically have a U-shaped profile in cross-section, in contrast to river valleys, which tend to have a V-shaped profile. Other valleys may arise principally through tectonic processes such as

rifting In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben w ...

. All three processes can contribute to the development of a valley over geological time. The flat (or relatively flat) portion of a valley between its sides is referred to as the valley floor. The valley floor is typically formed by river sediments and may have fluvial terraces.

River valleys

The development of a river valley is affected by the character of the bedrock over which the river or stream flows, the elevational difference between its top and bottom, and indeed the climate. Typically the flow will increase downstream and the gradient will decrease. In the upper valley, the stream will most effectively erode its bed through

corrasion Corrasion is a geomorphological term for the process of mechanical erosion of the earth's surface caused when materials are transported across it by running water, waves, glaciers, wind or gravitational movement downslope. An example is the wear ...

to produce a steep-sided V-shaped valley. The presence of more resistant rock bands, of geological faults,

fractures Fracture is the separation of an object or material into two or more pieces under the action of stress. The fracture of a solid usually occurs due to the development of certain displacement discontinuity surfaces within the solid. If a displ ...

, and folds may determine the course of the stream and result in a twisting course with

interlocking spur An interlocking spur, also known as an overlapping spur, is one of any number of projecting ridges that extend alternately from the opposite sides of the wall of a young, V-shaped valley down which a river with a winding course flows. Each of th ...

s. In the middle valley, as numerous streams have coalesced, the valley is typically wider, the flow slower and both erosion and deposition may take place. More lateral erosion takes place in the middle section of a river's course, as strong currents on the outside of its curve erode the bank. Conversely, deposition may take place on the inside of curves where the current is much slacker, the process leading to the river assuming a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sedimen ...

ing character. In the lower valley, gradients are lowest, meanders may be much broader and a broader

floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goud ...

may result. Deposition dominates over erosion. A typical river basin or drainage basin will incorporate each of these different types of valleys. Some sections of a stream or river valleys may have vertically incised their course to such an extent that the valley they occupy is best described as a

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to ...

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.canyon A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tendency to ...

. Rapid down-cutting may result from localized uplift of the land surface or rejuvenation of the watercourse as a result for example of a reduction in the base level to which the river is eroded, e.g. lowered global sea level during an

. Such rejuvenation may also result in the production of

river terrace Fluvial terraces are elongated terraces that flank the sides of floodplains and fluvial valleys all over the world. They consist of a relatively level strip of land, called a "tread", separated from either an adjacent floodplain, other fluvial ...

Glacial valleys

There are various forms of valleys associated with glaciation. True glacial valleys are those that have been cut by a glacier which may or may not still occupy the valley at the present day. Such valleys may also be known as glacial troughs. They typically have a U-shaped cross-section and are characteristic landforms of mountain areas where glaciation has occurred or continues to take place. The uppermost part of a glacial valley frequently consists of one or more 'armchair-shaped' hollows, or ' cirques', excavated by the rotational movement downslope of a cirque glacier. During glacial periods, for example, the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed i ...

ice ages, it is in these locations that glaciers initially form and then, as the ice age proceeds extend downhill through valleys that have previously been shaped by water rather than ice. Abrasion the movement of ice and particularly by rock material embedded within it causes the widening and deepening of the valley to produce the characteristic U or trough shape with relatively steep, even vertical sides and a relatively flat bottom.

Interlocking spur An interlocking spur, also known as an overlapping spur, is one of any number of projecting ridges that extend alternately from the opposite sides of the wall of a young, V-shaped valley down which a river with a winding course flows. Each of th ...

s associated with the development of river valleys are preferentially eroded to produce truncated spurs, typical of glaciated mountain landscapes. The upper end of the trough below the ice-contributing cirques may be a trough-end. Valley steps (or 'rock steps') can result from differing erosion rates due to both the nature of the bedrock (hardness and jointing for example) and the power of the moving ice. In places, a rock basin may be excavated which may later be filled with water to form a

ribbon lake A ribbon lake is a long and deep, finger-shaped lake, usually found in a glacial trough. As such, a ribbon lake is one of a number of glacial landscapes, including arêtes, corries, rock lips, rock basins and terminal moraines. Such a lake's f ...

or else by sediments. Such features are found in coastal areas as

fjord In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, ...

s. The shape of the valley which results from all of these influences may only become visible upon the recession of the glacier that forms it. A river or stream may remain in the valley; if it is smaller than one would expect given the size of its valley, it can be considered an example of a misfit stream. Pirin ezera Pano Chairski ezera

Other interesting glacially carved valleys include: *

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California. The valley is about long and deep, surrounded by high granite summits such as H ...

(United States) * Side valleys of the Austrian river

Salzach The Salzach (Austrian: �saltsax ) is a river in Austria and Germany. It is in length and is a right tributary of the Inn, which eventually joins the Danube. Its drainage basin of comprises large parts of the Northern Limestone and Centra ...

for their parallel directions and hanging mouths. * That of the St. Mary River in Glacier National Park in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colu ...

, United States.

Tunnel

A tunnel valley is a large, long, U-shaped valley originally cut under the glacial ice near the margin of continental ice sheets such as that now covering Antarctica and formerly covering portions of all continents during past glacial ages. Such valleys can be up to long, wide, and deep (its depth may vary along its length). Tunnel valleys were formed by subglacial water erosion. They once served as subglacial drainage pathways carrying large volumes of meltwater. Their cross-sections exhibit steep-sided flanks similar to fjord walls, and their flat bottoms are typical of subglacial glacial erosion.

Meltwater

In northern Central Europe, the Scandinavian ice sheet during the various ice ages advanced slightly uphill against the lie of the land. As a result, its meltwaters flowed parallel to the ice margin to reach the North Sea basin, forming huge, flat valleys known as Urstromtäler. Unlike the other forms of glacial valleys, these were formed by glacial meltwaters.

Transition forms and shoulders

Depending on the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

, the

rock type In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

s, and the

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in an area, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteorologi ...

, a variety of transitional forms between V-, U- and plain valleys can form. The floor or bottom of these valleys can be broad or narrow, but all valleys have a shoulder. The broader a mountain valley, the lower its shoulders are located in most cases. An important exception is canyons where the shoulder almost is near the top of the valley's slope. In the Alps – e.g. the Tyrolean Inn valley – the shoulders are quite low (100–200 meters above the bottom). Many villages are located here (esp. on the sunny side) because the climate is very mild: even in winter when the valley's floor is filled with fog, these villages are in

sunshine Sunlight is a portion of the electromagnetic radiation given off by the Sun, in particular infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. On Earth, sunlight is scattered and filtered through Earth's atmosphere, and is obvious as daylight when ...

. In some stress-tectonic regions of the

Rockies The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

or the Alps (e.g.

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

), the side valleys are parallel to each other, and are

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

. Smaller streams flow into rivers as deep canyons or

waterfall A waterfall is a point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in several ...

Hanging tributary

Closeup of Bridalveil Fall seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite NP

A hanging valley is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

valley that is higher than the main valley. They are most commonly associated with U-shaped valleys, where a tributary glacier flows into a glacier of larger volume. The main glacier erodes a deep U-shaped valley with nearly vertical sides, while the tributary glacier, with a smaller volume of ice, makes a shallower U-shaped valley. Since the surfaces of the glaciers were originally at the same

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § V ...

, the shallower valley appears to be 'hanging' above the main valley. Often, waterfalls form at or near the outlet of the upper valley. Hanging valleys also occur in

systems underwater. The branches of Sognefjord are much shallower than the main fjord. The mouth of Fjærlandsfjord is about 400 meters deep while the main fjord nearby is 1200 meters deep. The mouth of Ikjefjord is only 50 meters deep while the main fjord is around 1300 meters at the same point. Glaciated terrain is not the only site of hanging streams and valleys. Hanging valleys are also simply the product of varying rates of erosion of the main valley and the tributary valleys. The varying rates of erosion are associated with the composition of the adjacent rocks in the different valley locations. The tributary valleys are eroded and deepened by glaciers or erosion at a slower rate than that of the main valley floor; thus the difference in the two valleys' depth increases over time. The tributary valley, composed of more resistant rock, then hangs over the main valley.

Trough-shaped

Trough-shaped valleys also form in regions of heavy topographic denudation. By contrast with glacial U-shaped valleys, there is less downward and sideways erosion. The severe downslope denudation results in gently sloping valley sides; their transition to the actual valley bottom is unclear. Trough-shaped valleys occur mainly in

periglacial Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", also referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing of snow in areas of permafrost, the runoff from which refreezes in ice wedges and o ...

regions and in

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also refer ...

regions of variable wetness. Both climates are dominated by heavy denudation.

Box

Box valleys have wide, relatively level floors and steep sides. They are common in periglacial areas and occur in mid-latitudes, but also occur in tropical and arid regions.

Rift

Rift valleys, such as the

Albertine Rift The Albertine Rift is the western branch of the East African Rift, covering parts of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania. It extends from the northern end of Lake Albert to the southern end of Lake ...

and Gregory Rift are formed by the expansion of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

's crust due to

tectonic Tectonics (; ) are the processes that control the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. These include the processes of mountain building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents ...

activity beneath the Earth's surface.

Terms for valleys

There are many terms used for different sorts of valleys. They include: *

Cove A cove is a small type of bay or coastal inlet. Coves usually have narrow, restricted entrances, are often circular or oval, and are often situated within a larger bay. Small, narrow, sheltered bays, inlets, creeks, or recesses in a coast are of ...

: A small valley, closed at one or both ends, in the central or southern

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a mountain range, system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovicia ...

which sometimes results from the erosion of a geologic window. *

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data s ...

: A small, secluded, and often wooded valley. *

Dry valley A dry valley may develop on many kinds of permeable rock, such as limestone and chalk, or sandy terrains that do not regularly sustain surface water flow. Such valleys do not hold surface water because it sinks into the permeable bedrock. There ...

: A valley not created by sustained surface water flow. * Erosional Valley: A valley formed by

. * Hollow: A term used regionally for a small valley surrounded by mountains or

ridge A ridge or a mountain ridge is a geographical feature consisting of a chain of mountains or hills that form a continuous elevated crest for an extended distance. The sides of the ridge slope away from the narrow top on either side. The line ...

s. In

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces o ...

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador ...

, and the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Os ...

and

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to ...

, a hollow is a small valley or dry

stream bed A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow ( channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but floo ...

. * Longitudinal valley: An elongated valley found between two nearly-parallel mountain chains. * Steephead Valley: A deep, narrow, flat-bottomed valley with an abrupt ending. * Strike Valley: A valley typically developed parallel to a

cuesta A cuesta (from Spanish ''cuesta'' "slope") is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope on one side, and a steep slope on the other. In geology the term is more specifically applied to a ridge where a harder sedimentary rock overlies a softer laye ...

from more readily eroded strata. * Structural Valley: A valley formed by geologic events such as drop faults or the rise of highlands. Similar geographical features such as gullies,

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the ...

s, and kloofs, are not usually referred to as valleys. Indus Kohistan Pakistan

British regional terms for valleys

The terms corrie,

glen A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

, and

strath A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep). Word and etymology An anglicisation of the Gaelic word ''srath'', it is one of many that have been a ...

are all

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influe ...

s of Gaelic terms and are commonly encountered in place-names in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and other areas where Gaelic was once widespread. Strath signifies a wide valley between hills, the floor of which is either level or slopes gently. A glen is a river valley which is steeper and narrower than a strath. A corrie is a basin-shaped hollow in a mountain. Each of these terms also occurs in parts of the world formerly colonized by Britain. ''Corrie'' is used more widely by geographers as a synonym for (glacial) ''

cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped land ...

'', as is the word '' cwm'' borrowed from Welsh. The word dale occurs widely in place names in the north of England and, to a lesser extent, in southern Scotland. As a generic name for a type of valley, the term typically refers to a wide valley, though there are many much smaller stream valleys within the

Yorkshire Dales The Yorkshire Dales is an upland area of the Pennines in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, most of it in the Yorkshire Dales National Park created in 1954. The Dales comprise river valleys and the hills rising from the Vale of York ...

which are named "(specific name) Dale". Clough is a word in common use in northern England for a narrow valley with steep sides. ''

Gill A gill () is a respiratory organ that many aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they ar ...

'' is used to describe a ravine containing a mountain stream in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

and the

Pennines The Pennines (), also known as the Pennine Chain or Pennine Hills, are a range of uplands running between three regions of Northern England: North West England on the west, North East England and Yorkshire and the Humber on the east. Commo ...

. The term

combe A combe (; also spelled coombe or coomb and, in place names, comb) can refer either to a steep, narrow valley, or to a small valley or large hollow on the side of a hill; in any case, it is often understood simply to mean a small valley through wh ...

(also encountered as ''coombe'') is widespread in southern England and describes a short valley set into a hillside. Other terms for small valleys such as hope, dean, slade, slac''k'' and bottom are commonly encountered in place-names in various parts of England but are no longer in general use as synonyms for ''valley''. The term vale is used in England and Wales to describe a wide river valley, usually with a particularly wide

flood plain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...

or flat valley bottom. In Southern England, vales commonly occur between the outcrops of different relatively erosion-resistant rock formations, where less resistant rock, often

claystone Mudrocks are a class of fine-grained siliciclastic sedimentary rocks. The varying types of mudrocks include siltstone, claystone, mudstone, slate, and shale. Most of the particles of which the stone is composed are less than and are too s ...

has been eroded. An example is the

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse is a local government district of Oxfordshire in England. It was historically a north-west projection of Berkshire. The area is commonly referred to as the 'Vale of ''the'' White Horse'. It is crossed by the Ridgeway Na ...

in Oxfordshire.

Human settlement

Some of the first human complex societies originated in river valleys, such as that of the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

, Tigris-Euphrates,

Indus The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flow ...

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Missis ...

, and arguably the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

. In

prehistory Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

, the rivers were used as a source of

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does includ ...

and food (fish and game), as well as a place to wash and a sewer. The proximity of water moderated

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that expresses quantitatively the perceptions of hotness and coldness. Temperature is measured with a thermometer. Thermometers are calibrated in various temperature scales that historically have relied o ...

extremes and provided a source for

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

, stimulating the development of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

. Most of the first civilizations developed from these river valley communities. Siting of settlements within valleys is influenced by many factors, including the need to avoid flooding and the location of river crossing points.

Notable examples

Africa

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...

* Ethiopian Rift Valley * Great Rift Valley *

Nile Valley The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...

(Egypt/Sudan/Ethiopia/Uganda) * Nugaal Valley (Somalia) * Umba Valley (Tanzania) *

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings ( ar, وادي الملوك ; Late Coptic: ), also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings ( ar, وادي أبوا الملوك ), is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11t ...

(Egypt)

Asia

* List of valleys in India * List of valleys in Pakistan *

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...

(Lebanon) *

Emin Valley The Emin Valley () is located on the China–Kazakhstan border, in Central Asia. It has an area of about . Its main waterway is the Emil River. Administratively, the Emin Valley occupies areas of Tacheng Prefecture in the Xinjiang Region of ...

(Kazakhstan) * Ihlara,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

* Dang Valley (Western Nepal) *

Jordan Rift Valley The Jordan Rift Valley, also Jordan Valley ''Bīrʿāt haYardēn'', ar, الغور Al-Ghor or Al-Ghawr),, date=November 2022 also called the Syro-African Depression, is an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel, and Jordan. This ...

(Jordan - Israel) * Jordan Valley *

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Provi ...

(Nepal) * Mahaweli (Sri Lanka) *

Panjshir Valley The Panjshir Valley (also spelled Panjsher or Darah-I-Panjshir; Pashto/Dari: – ''Dare-ye Panjšēr''; literally ''Valley of the Five Lions'') is a valley in northeastern Afghanistan, north of Kabul, near the Hindu Kush mountain range. It is ...

(Afghanistan) * Valleys of China ** Baligou Valley **

** Heizhu Valley **

Insukati Valley The Yinsugaiti Glacier is located in Shaksgam River basin, north-west of K2 peak on the northern slope of the Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the ...

** Jiuzhaigou Valley ** Mutou Valley

Oceania

Barossa Valley The Barossa Valley ( Barossa German: ''Barossa Tal'') is a valley in South Australia located northeast of Adelaide city centre. The valley is formed by the North Para River. It is notable as a major wine-producing region and tourist destinat ...

(Australia) * Bulolo Valley (Papua New Guinea) * Capertee Valley (Australia) *

Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

(Australia) * Hutt Valley (New Zealand) *

Macarthur, New South Wales Macarthur is a region in the south-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region includes the local government areas of the City of Campbelltown, Camden Council, and Wollondilly Shire. It covers an area of 3,06 ...

(Australia) * Markham Valley (Papua New Guinea) *

Cagayan Valley Cagayan Valley ( ilo, Tanap ti Cagayan; fil, Lambak ng Cagayan), is an administrative region in the Philippines, located in the northeastern section of Luzon Island. It is composed of five Philippine provinces: Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, ...

(Philippines) * Strath Taieri (New Zealand)

Europe

* Dalen, Telemark (Telemark, Norway) * Bergensdalen (Vestland, Norway) * Danube Valley (Eastern Europe) * Glen Coe (Scotland, United Kingdom) *

Great Glen The Great Glen ( gd, An Gleann Mòr ), also known as Glen Albyn (from the Gaelic "Glen of Scotland" ) or Glen More (from the Gaelic ), is a glen in Scotland running for from Inverness on the edge of Moray Firth, in an approximately straight ...

(Scotland, United Kingdom) *

Gudbrandsdalen Gudbrandsdalen (; en, Gudbrand Valley) is a valley and traditional district in the Norwegian county of Innlandet (formerly Oppland). The valley is oriented in a north-westerly direction from Lillehammer and the lake of Mjøsa, extending towa ...

(Oppland, Norway) *

Hallingdalen Hallingdal ( en, Halling Valley) is a valley as well as a traditional district located in the traditional and electoral district Buskerud in Viken county in Norway. It consists of six municipalities: Flå, Nes, Gol, Hemsedal, Ål and Hol. ...

(Buskerud, Norway) * Heddal (Telemark, Norway) * Iron Gate (Romania/Serbia) * Lauterbrunnen Valley (Bern, Switzerland) * Loire Valley with its famous castles (France) * Midt-Telemark (Telemark, Norway) * Nant Ffrancon (Wales, United Kingdom) * Numedalen (Buskerud, Norway) * Østerdalen (Hedmark, Norway) *

Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic e ...

, (Italy) * Rhone Valley from the

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of th ...

to Grenoble and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

(France) *

Romsdalen Romsdalen is a valley in the western part of Norway. The long valley runs through Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county and Lesja Municipality in Innlandet county. It is the valley of the Rauma river, from Old Norse word ''Raumsdal ...

(Møre Og Romsdal, Norway) *

Setesdal Setesdal (; older name: Sætersdal) is a valley and a traditional district in Agder County in southern Norway. It consists of the municipalities of Bykle, Valle, Bygland, Iveland, and Evje og Hornnes. The Otra river flows through the val ...

(Agder, Norway) * South Wales Valleys (Wales, United Kingdom) *

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the ...

Valley or

Upper Rhine Plain The Upper Rhine Plain, Rhine Rift Valley or Upper Rhine Graben ( German: ''Oberrheinische Tiefebene'', ''Oberrheinisches Tiefland'' or ''Oberrheingraben'', French: ''Vallée du Rhin'') is a major rift, about and on average , between Basel in the s ...

, an old

graben In geology, a graben () is a depressed block of the crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German, meaning 'ditch' or 'trench'. The word was first used in the geologic cont ...

system. (France and Germany) * Vestfjorddalen (Norway)

North America

Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, and east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey. Caguas was founded ...

(Puerto Rico) * Central Valley (California) *

Coachella Valley , map_image = Wpdms shdrlfi020l coachella valley.jpg , map_caption = Coachella Valley , location = California, United States , coordinates = , width = , boundaries = Salton Sea (southeast), Santa Rosa Mountains (southwest), San Jaci ...

(California) *

Cumberland Valley The Cumberland Valley is a northern constituent valley of the Great Appalachian Valley, within the Atlantic Seaboard watershed in Pennsylvania and Maryland. The Appalachian Trail crosses through the valley. Geography The valley is bound ...

(Maryland/Pennsylvania) *

Death Valley Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. During summer, it is the hottest place on Earth. Death Valley's Badwater Basin is the point of lowest elevation in North A ...

(California) *

Fraser Canyon The Fraser Canyon is a major landform of the Fraser River where it descends rapidly through narrow rock gorges in the Coast Mountains en route from the Interior Plateau of British Columbia to the Fraser Valley. Colloquially, the term "Fraser Ca ...

(British Columbia) *

Fraser Valley The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...

(British Columbia) *

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a ...

(Arizona, United States) *

Hell's Gate Hells Gate or Hell's Gate or Hell Gate may refer to: Places Africa * Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya Antarctica * Hells Gate Moraine, Victoria Land Asia * Nyalam Town, Tibet * A location in Nampong, Arunachal Pradesh, India * The Darvaza ga ...

(British Columbia) *

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

(New York) *

Imperial Valley , photo = Salton Sea from Space.jpg , photo_caption = The Imperial Valley below the Salton Sea. The US-Mexican border runs diagonally across the lower left of the image. , map_image = Newriverwatershed-1-.jpg , map_caption = Map of Imperial ...

(California) *

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

(Nevada) *

Missouri River Valley The Missouri River Valley outlines the journey of the Missouri River from its headwaters where the Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers flow together in Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in the State of Missouri. At long t ...

(Missouri) *

Monument Valley Monument Valley ( nv, Tsé Biiʼ Ndzisgaii, , meaning ''valley of the rocks'') is a region of the Colorado Plateau characterized by a cluster of sandstone buttes, the largest reaching above the valley floor. It is located on the Utah-Arizona s ...

(Arizona, Utah) *

Napa Valley Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premie ...

(California) * Okanagan Valley (British Columbia) *

Ottawa Valley The Ottawa Valley is the valley of the Ottawa River, along the boundary between Eastern Ontario and the Outaouais, Quebec, Canada. The valley is the transition between the Saint Lawrence Lowlands and the Canadian Shield. Because of the surround ...

(Ontario/Quebec) *

Palo Duro Canyon Palo Duro Canyon is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment located in the Texas Panhandle near the cities of Amarillo and Canyon. As the second-largest canyon in the United States, it is roughly long and has an average width of , but reaches ...

(Texas) * Valley of the Sun (Arizona) *

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

(Texas) * Saint Lawrence Valley (Ontario/Quebec/New York) *

Salt Lake Valley Salt Lake Valley is a valley in Salt Lake County in the north-central portion of the U.S. state of Utah. It contains Salt Lake City and many of its suburbs, notably Murray, Sandy, South Jordan, West Jordan, and West Valley City; its total ...

(Utah) *

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ...

(California) *

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Rid ...

(Virginia/West Virginia) * Sonoma Valley (California) *

Toluca Valley The Toluca Valley is a valley in central Mexico, just west of the Valley of Mexico ( Mexico City), the old name was Matlatzinco. The valley runs north–south for about , surrounded by mountains, the most imposing of which is the Nevado de Toluca ...

(Mexico) * Valley of the Gods (Utah) *

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico ( es, Valle de México) is a highlands plateau in central Mexico roughly coterminous with present-day Mexico City and the eastern half of the State of Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico ...

(Mexico) *

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

(Oregon) *

(California)

South America

* Aburra Valley (Colombia) * Calchaquí Valleys (Argentina) * Paraíba Valley (Brazil) * Cauca Valley (Colombia) *

Ischigualasto Ischigualasto Provincial Park ( es, Parque Provincial Ischigualasto), also called ''Valle de la Luna'' ("Valley of the Moon" or "Moon Valley"), due to its moon like appearance, is a provincial protected area in the north-east of San Juan Provinc ...

''Valley of the Moon'' (Argentina)

Antarctica

* West Antarctic Rift System

Extraterrestrial valleys

Numerous elongate depressions have been identified on the surface of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atm ...

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

, the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width ...

, and other planets and their satellites and are known as valles (singular: 'vallis'). Deeper valleys with steeper sides (akin to canyons) on certain of these bodies are known as

chasma In planetary nomenclature, a chasma (''plural'': chasmata ) is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. As of 2020, the IAU has named 122 such features in the Solar System, on Venus (63), Mars (25), Saturn's satellites Mimas (6), Tethys (2) ...

ta (singular: 'chasma'). Long narrow depressions are referred to as fossae (singular: 'fossa'). These are the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

terms for 'valley, 'gorge' and 'ditch' respectively. The German term '

rille Rille (German for 'groove') is typically used to describe any of the long, narrow depressions in the surface of the Moon that resemble channels. The Latin term is ''rima'', plural ''rimae''. Typically, a rille can be several kilometers wid ...

' or Latin term 'rima' (signifying 'cleft') is used for certain other elongate depressions on the Moon. See also: * List of valleys on Mars, * List of chasmata on Mars, * List of valleys on the Moon, *

List of largest rifts, canyons and valleys in the Solar System Following are the longest, widest, and deepest rifts and valleys in various worlds of the Solar System. List See also * List of Solar System extremes ** List of largest craters in the Solar System ** List of tallest mountains in the Solar Sys ...

References

Extraterrestrial valleys

Vallis Alpes Vallis Alpes ( Latin for "Alpine Valley") is a lunar valley feature that bisects the Montes Alpes range. It extends 166 km from the Mare Imbrium basin, trending east-northeast to the edge of the Mare Frigoris. The valley is narrow at both ...

, bisecting the Lunar Alps
Valles Marineris and Ophir Chasma

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

website (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and German) {{Authority control Erosion landforms Fluvial landforms Slope landforms Bodies of water

Formation of valleys

River valleys

Glacial valleys

Tunnel

Meltwater

Transition forms and shoulders

Hanging tributary

Trough-shaped

Box

Rift

Terms for valleys

British regional terms for valleys

Human settlement

Notable examples

Africa

Asia

Oceania

Europe

North America

South America

Antarctica

Extraterrestrial valleys

See also

References

External links

Extraterrestrial valleys