A steep-sided valley formed by the downward displacement of a block of the earth's surface between nearly parallel faults or fault systems.
裂谷，断裂谷
Example sentencesExamples
Instead of being swallowed up, as in a typical rift valley, the sediments are spread widely over the basin or anywhere that is slightly lower than the uplifted area.
Uganda has five prospective oil exploring areas along the western rift valley (the Albertine Grabe) covering an total area of nearly 22,000 square kilometers.
Late in the Cenozoic, the main rift valley running through Ethiopia, Kenya, and points south, became the home of several species of large, noisy, and nearly hairless apes.
The area we had surveyed was in the rift valley that lies along the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a mile-high undersea volcanic mountain range that traverses the Atlantic from north to south.
The most important discussion of volcanic activity focuses on the Owens Valley, which is in fact an active rift valley.
Definition of rift valley in US English:
rift valley
nounˈrif(t) ˌvalēˈrɪf(t) ˌvæli
A large elongated depression with steep walls formed by the downward displacement of a block of the earth's surface between nearly parallel faults or fault systems.
裂谷，断裂谷
Example sentencesExamples
Late in the Cenozoic, the main rift valley running through Ethiopia, Kenya, and points south, became the home of several species of large, noisy, and nearly hairless apes.
Uganda has five prospective oil exploring areas along the western rift valley (the Albertine Grabe) covering an total area of nearly 22,000 square kilometers.
Instead of being swallowed up, as in a typical rift valley, the sediments are spread widely over the basin or anywhere that is slightly lower than the uplifted area.
The most important discussion of volcanic activity focuses on the Owens Valley, which is in fact an active rift valley.
The area we had surveyed was in the rift valley that lies along the center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a mile-high undersea volcanic mountain range that traverses the Atlantic from north to south.