Escarpment

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.

Due to the similarity, the term scarp may mistakenly be incorrectly used interchangeably with escarpment. escarpment referring to the margin between two landforms, and scarp referring to a cliff or a steep slope.^[1]^[2]^[3] 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^[4] caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau.

^ Easterbrook, Don J. (1999). Surface Processes and Landforms. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-860958-0.^{[page needed]}
^ Summary: Escarpments, US Army Corps of Engineers.
^ "Escarpment". education.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2025-03-07.
^ "Scarps and Terraces". Physiography. Radford University. Retrieved 24 December 2020.

[Easterbrook-1] Easterbrook, Don J. (1999). Surface Processes and Landforms. Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-860958-0.^{[page needed]}

[2] Summary: Escarpments, US Army Corps of Engineers.

[3] "Escarpment". education.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2025-03-07.

[4] "Scarps and Terraces". Physiography. Radford University. Retrieved 24 December 2020.

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Escarpment

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