Valley

A valley is a low area of land between hills or mountains. Rivers, glaciers, and tectonic movements can shape its form.

River valley: A valley shaped mainly by flowing river water. Running water cuts channels and carries sediment through this kind of valley.
Drainage basin: An area of land where precipitation drains into a common outlet. A valley’s streams belong to a larger network that collects water across a basin.
Valley wind: A local wind that blows up a valley during the day as slopes warm. Valley shape channels daily air circulation between valley floors and slopes.
Yosemite Valley: A glacially shaped valley in California’s Sierra Nevada, known for steep granite cliffs. Its cliffs and broad floor make glacial valley form visible at landscape scale.
Glacial valley: A valley widened and deepened by moving glacier ice. Glacier erosion often gives valleys a broad, U-shaped cross-section.
Watershed: A ridge or elevated boundary separating neighboring drainage basins. Watersheds define which slopes and valleys drain toward the same outlet.
Inversion (meteorology): An atmospheric layer in which temperature increases with altitude, trapping cooler air below. Inversions can confine cold air and pollution within valleys.
Napa Valley: A valley in California known for wine production and a Mediterranean climate. Its agricultural land use illustrates how valley soils and climate support settlement.
V-shaped valley: A narrow valley with steep sides and a cross-section resembling the letter V. Downcutting rivers commonly produce this cross-section in uplands.
River terrace: A step-like landform marking an older level of a river valley floor. Terraces preserve earlier stages of a river’s valley incision.

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