rift valley

Definition of rift valleynext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rift valley If the two plates keep moving apart, then eventually the Arabian Sea and rift valley will become a new ocean. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 24 Nov. 2025 The high plain ran to the rift valley and the Rio Grande, which flows all the way to Mexico. Michael Paterniti, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2025 The rift valleys of East Africa are some of the largest and most spectacular topographic features on Earth. David Bressan, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025 There is a rift valley on the Rio Grande in the desert of New Mexico where an award-winning home sits. Jennifer Castenson, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Rather than having a central volcano, the Reykjanes Peninsula is dominated by a rift valley with lava fields and cones. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Baringo is a county based within Kenya’s rift valley, which, according to Buret, experiences unnoticeable tectonic earth movement daily. Faustine Ngila, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2023 Valles Marineris is thought to be a rift valley, formed by uplift when hot material from the Mars's mantle bubbled up and stretched the planet's crust. Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rift valley
Noun
  • For an unobstructed view across the canyon, be sure to check out Barbour Rock Trail Overlook.
    Anthony Fredericks, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
  • The village at the top consists of two restaurants (the more expensive one has a view of a steep canyon and the blue Rio Grande below) and a smattering of houses.
    Lauren Villagran, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The key location of Rambla de Barrachina, a spectacular gorge in the Aragón province of Teruel, bares more than just a resemblance to Morocco’s picturesque landscape.
    Ed Meza, Variety, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Visitors can enjoy heart-pounding adventures like zip lining through the forest canopy, rock climbing on the gorge’s steep cliffs, and whitewater rafting on the New River’s epic Class I to V rapids.
    Jordan Charbonneau, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The road to the potato patches — where the community grows most of its vegetables — crosses several large gulches that frequently spill tons of rock and soil onto the track, requiring regular maintenance.
    NPR, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Tucked into the coastal bluffs just off of Highway 1, Calla Lily Valley is a small gulch that explodes with vibrancy this time of year as hundreds of shoulder-high white flowers bloom in unison.
    Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • The geological history of this valley goes back 300 to 350 million years when Pine Creek began cutting across what eventually became the Allegheny Plateau.
    Anthony Fredericks, Travel + Leisure, 12 Apr. 2026
  • The low snowfall in the valleys around the Great Salt Lake are symptoms of the lake's chronically low water levels, Abbott said.
    Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 12 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2026
  • She was found hours later, barely alive and with a fractured skull, having been brutally raped and left for dead in one of the park’s ravines.
    Tracy Grant, Encyclopedia Britannica, 10 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The hole was 340 yards and had no bunkers, only a gully in front of the green.
    ABC News, ABC News, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Authorities say the mountain sees about a dozen rescues and one fatality per year, with slip-and-falls in steep gullies being a common danger.
    Gregory Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Make gentle depressions with your fingertips to create ¼-inch-deep divots.
    SJ McShane, Martha Stewart, 12 Apr. 2026
  • One of the bills would create a pilot program for psychedelic or psilocybin mushrooms to be used in medicine for the treatment of mental health conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder and severe depression.
    Esme Murphy, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • In less than 10 minutes, a wooden bridge deposits us on the doorstep of a cinematic landscape that unfurls into a seemingly endless patchwork of rolling hills and glens in hues of umber, cinnamon, and ochre, flanked by mountains standing sentinel on either side.
    Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Her outfit stayed inside Browne’s gray suit vocabulary, layering a glen-check blazer with strong shoulders layered over a matching waist panel and pleated detail at the hip, finished with the brand’s red-white-blue grosgrain tab at the hem.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 7 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rift valley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rift%20valley. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.

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