molasse

noun

a soft sediment produced by the erosion of mountain ranges after the final phase of mountain building

Word Origin for molasse

C18: from French, perhaps alteration of mollasse, from Latin mollis soft

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

Examples from the Web for molasse

Historical Examples of molasse

In some places a decided agreement of the fossil fishes of the molasse and faluns has been observed.
A Manual of Elementary Geology
Charles Lyell.