Scarp (landform)

Scarp is a term in geology and geography with several similar meanings.

A scarp is a cliff or steep slope.Easterbrook, D. J. 1999. Surface processes and landforms. 2nd ed, Prentice Hall, New Jersey.Summary: Escarpments , US Army Corps of Engineers. The word is derived from the Italian scarpa, meaning 'shoe'.scarp - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary 
The surface of the steep slope is called a scarp face.
A fault scarp is a steep cliff made by movement along one side of a fault.
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from faulting and resulting erosion. It separates two relatively level areas of different height. 
A cuesta is an asymmetric ridge with an escarpment on one side and a gentle dip slope on the other side.

 Formation 
Scarps are generally formed by one or both: 
differential erosion of sedimentary rocks, or by 
vertical movement of the Earth's crust along a geologic fault. 
Most commonly, an escarpment is a transition from one series of sedimentary rocks to another series of a different age and composition.

Escarpments are also frequently formed by faults. When a fault displaces the ground surface so that one side is higher than the other, a fault scarp is created. This brings a piece of high ground next to an area of lower ground.

More loosely, the term scarp describes the zone between coastal lowlands and continental plateaus. A marked, abrupt change in height is caused by coastal erosion at the base of the plateau.

500px|center|thumb|Schematic cross section of a cuesta, dip slopes facing left, and harder rocklayers in darker colors than softer ones.

 References 

Category:Landforms