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LANDFORMS
There are a number of terms used to describe various landforms, which are encountered in map reading
and land navigation. All these landforms are a combination of uniform, concave and convex slopes, and selected terms relating
to them are as folows:
- Ridge A ridge occurs
where two slopes are inclined upwards towards each other to form a long narrow hill top.
- Valley A valley is the low ground between two
ridges and usually has a river or stream flowing along its lowest line or floor.
- Spur A spur is a projection or salient of
higher ground from ridges into a valley. Successions of spurs may occur alternately on opposite sides of the valley.
- Re-entrant A re-entrant is the low ground between
two spurs. The head of a re-entrant can be very steep and the lowest part can be wet.
- Col A col is a depression
in the ridge line of a mountain chain sometimes, but not always providing a pass from one side to the other.
- Saddle A saddle is a ridge between two summits.
- Knoll A knoll is a small isolated hill on a plain
or plateau.
- Escarpment An escarpment is
a long and very steep slope leading up from a plain to a plateau. Spurs and re-entrants may occur along an escarpment.
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