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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
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
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That’s due in large part to its natural beauty—towering mountains, spectacular canyons, and rushing waters inspire hiking, biking, fly-fishing and a number of other outdoor pursuits.—
Amelia Mularz,
Architectural Digest,
17 Mar. 2026
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Some trails start out as mellow, flat hikes, but eventually turn into steep, rocky scrambles, requiring hikers to use their hands to navigate around boulders or up narrow canyons.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Float for a week through the canyon’s inner gorge, watching the walls climb to a mile above you, and then return here and the whole arc of the trip clicks into place.—
Kevin Sintumuang,
Outside,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Tallulah Gorge State Park Tallulah Gorge State Park is rife with heart-pumping activities, including hiking along its two-mile gorge.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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Farther up the gulch, the water formed a pool, which gave off a rank chemical smell.—
Nick Bowlin,
ProPublica,
29 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Soon, there could be military boots on the ground crossing into the Islamic Republic of Iran from this terrain of fertile valleys, deep gorges and ancient Mesopotamian trade routes perched below the mountainous border dividing Iraq and Iran.—
Younes Mohammad,
USA Today,
15 Mar. 2026
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The valleys will see the highest temperatures from Tuesday to Friday, while the mountains and desert areas will become warmest from Wednesday to Friday.—
Dakota Smith,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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If finding a safe shelter is not possible, either crouch down inside your car and protect your head, or abandon your vehicle and seek shelter in a low-lying area such as a ditch or ravine.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 Mar. 2026
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When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.—
STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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
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According to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, the two climbers, aged 19 and 20, called for help the previous evening after one of them lost his footing and plunged 700 vertical feet down Avalanche Gulch, the major gully on Mount Shasta’s southern flank.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
My evident happiness was catching, and my mother, too, was lifted out of her depression.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
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Katherine was a clinical social worker who specialized in adoption issues, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, grief and loss, suicidality, and relationship difficulties.—
Lizzie Lanuza,
StyleCaster,
15 Mar. 2026
Noun
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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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This is also what allows what’s outside its doorstep to take precedence: the soul-stirring glens, spirit-rejuvenating streams, and craggy peaks of Cairngorms National Park.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Rift valley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rift%20valley. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
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