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cycle of erosion

British  

noun

  1. the hypothetical sequence of modifications to the earth's surface by erosion, from the original uplift of the land to the ultimate low plain, usually divided into the youthful, mature, and old stages

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Some cliffs may be relatively stable for years following a cycle of erosion, he said.

From Washington Times

If while the quartzite remained much as now, the valleys in the sandstone below 1,000 or 1,100 feet were filled, the result would correspond in a general way to the surface which existed in this region when the first distinctly recognizable cycle of erosion was brought to a close.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus a new cycle of erosion was begun, and the uplifted peneplain was dissected by the quickened streams which sank their valleys promptly into the slightly resistant sandstone.

From Project Gutenberg

The time necessary for the development of such a surface is known as a cycle of erosion, and the resulting surface is a base-level plain, that is, a plain as near sea level as river erosion can bring it.

From Project Gutenberg

This cycle of erosion appears to have advanced no farther than to the development of wide flats along the principal streams, such as the Wisconsin and the Baraboo, and narrow ones along the subordinate water courses, when it was interrupted.

From Project Gutenberg