Features of Deserts
- Alluvial fan:
- An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped mass of alluvial deposits shed by a fast- moving mountain stream entering a broad valley or plain.
- Butte:
- A butte is an isolated flat-topped hill like a mesa, but smaller.
- Canyon:
- A canyon is a deep gorge of a river, often one flowing through a desert, but fed by water from outside.
- Inselberg:
- An inselberg is a steep, isolated hill with a narrow summit.
- Mesa:
- A mesa is a flat-topped, steep-sided plateau of horizontal strata capped by erosion-resistant rock.
- Pediment:
- A pediment is a gentle slope often covered with loose rock and lying below a mesa, butte, inselberg, or ridge.
- Playa:
- A playa is a temporary brackish (salt) lake.
- Wadi:
- A wadi is a usually dry desert watercourse.
Landscapes
- Bare rock desert
- Desert plateau with steep cliffs and deep, narrow river valleys
- Jagged, rocky peaks
- Sand desert
- Stony, gravelly desert
Wind Erosion
- Deflation hollow:
- A deflation hollow is a worn or deepened surface in a desert caused by the wind.
- Rock pavement (hamada):
- A rock pavement is a flat, wind-smoothed rocky desert surface.
- Rock pedestal:
- A rock pedestal is a mushroom-shaped rock, often formed of horizontal layers. It is caused by sand being driven into its base by the wind.
- Ventifact:
- A ventifact is a stone with the surface smoothed and flattened under prolonged attack by windblown sand.
- Yardangs:
- Yardangs are parallel ridges of hard rock up to 15 m (50 ft.) high. They form when alternating hard and soft rock layers are upended. They are products of the wind working on softer rock.
- Zeugen:
- Zeugen are parallel, flat-topped ridges of hard rock up to 30 m (100 ft.) high. It is caused by sand being driven into its base by the wind.
