piedmont slope

piedmont slope
   (colloquial: western USA)
   The dominant gentle slope at the foot of a mountain; generally used in terms of intermontane-basin terrain in arid to subhumid regions.
   Main components include:
   1) An erosional surface on bedrock adjacent to the receding mountain front (pediment, rock pediment);
   2) A constructional surface comprising individual alluvial fans and interfan valleys, also near the mountain front; and
   3) A distal complex of coalescent fans (bajada), and alluvial slopes without fan form. Piedmont slopes grade to basin-floor depressions with alluvial and temporary lake plains or to surfaces associated with through drainage (e.g., axial streams).
   Compare: bolson, fan piedmont.
   HP

Glossary of landform and geologic terms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • piedmont — (n.) name given to the fertile upland region along the eastern slope of the Appalachians, 1755, originally piemont, from It. Piemonte, lit. mountain foot, name of a region in northern Italy, from piede foot (see FOOT (Cf. foot) (n.)) + monte… …   Etymology dictionary

  • piedmont —    (adjective)    Lying or formed at the base of a mountain or mountain range; e.g., a piedmont terrace or a piedmont pediment. (noun) An area, plain, slope, glacier, or other feature at the base of a mountain; e.g., a foothill or a bajada. In… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • piedmont — [ pi:dmɒnt] noun a gentle slope leading from the foot of mountains to a region of flat land. Origin C19: from Ital. piemonte, lit. mountain foot …   English new terms dictionary

  • Piedmont — n. a gentle slope leading from the foot of mountains to a region of flat land. Etymology: It. piemonte mountain foot, name of a region at the foot of the Alps …   Useful english dictionary

  • piedmont — n. a gentle slope leading from the foot of mountains to a region of flat land. Etymology: It. piemonte mountain foot, name of a region at the foot of the Alps …   Useful english dictionary

  • fan piedmont —    The most extensive landform on piedmont slopes, formed by: 1) the lateral, downslope, coalescence of mountain front alluvial fans into one generally smooth slope with or without the transverse undulations of the semi conical alluvial fans, and …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • Colorado Piedmont — The Colorado Piedmont is the geologic term for an area along the base of the foothills of the Front Range in north central Colorado in the United States. The region consists of a broad hilly valley, just under 5000 ft (1500 m) in elevation,… …   Wikipedia

  • Colorado Western Slope — The Western Slope[1] of Colorado refers to a region of the U.S. state of Colorado incorporating everything in the state west of the Continental Divide. The Colorado River and its tributaries divide the region into north and south at Grand… …   Wikipedia

  • basin floor —    A general term for the nearly level, lower most part of intermontane basins (i.e., bolsons, semi bolsons). The floor includes all of the alluvial, eolian, and erosional landforms below the piedmont slope.    Compare: basin, piedmont slope.… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • pediment —    A gently sloping erosional surface developed at the foot of a receding hill or mountain slope, commonly with a slightly concave upward profile, that cross cuts rock or sediment strata that extend beneath adjacent uplands. The erosion surface… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

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