fall line

fall line
1. an imaginary line, marked by waterfalls and rapids, where rivers descend abruptly from an upland to a lowland.
2. (caps.) Eastern U.S. the imaginary line between the Piedmont and the Atlantic coastal plain.
3. Skiing. the path of natural descent from one point on a slope to another.
[1880-85, Amer.]

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      line of numerous waterfalls, as at the edge of a plateau, where streams pass from resistant rocks to a plain of weak ones below. Such a line also marks the head of navigation, or the inland limit that ships can reach from a river's mouth; because navigation is interrupted both upstream and downstream, important cities often occur along the fall line. In the eastern United States, a fall line exists between the Appalachian piedmont and the Atlantic coastal plain; waterfalls or rapids occur on all the principal rivers (e.g., the Delaware, Schuylkill, Patapsco, Potomac, James, and Savannah rivers), and the cities of Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Richmond, and Augusta are among those built along this line. Other examples are the extensive fall lines that separate the narrow coastal plains of Africa, Western Australia, Brazil, and India from their interior continental shields.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Fall Line — [ fɔ:l lain] ist der Übergang zwischen dem harten Gestein im Piedmont und den weicheren Bodenschichten in der Küstenebene an der Ostküste der Vereinigten Staaten. Östlich dieser am Rand der Appalachen verlaufenden etwa 1500 km langen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • fall line — ☆ fall line n. 1. the geographical line indicating the beginning of a plateau, usually marked by many waterfalls and rapids 2. Skiing the line of direct descent down a hill …   English World dictionary

  • Fall Line — the line east of the Appalachian Mountains, marking the end of the coastal plains and the beginning of the Piedmont Plateau …   English World dictionary

  • fall line — fall′ line n. 1) geg the natural boundary between an upland and a lowland, as a piedmont and a coastal plain: marked, in temperate or humid areas, by waterfalls and rapids 2) spo Skiing. the path of natural descent from one point on a slope to… …   From formal English to slang

  • Fall line — In geomorphology, a fall line (at times referred to as a fall zone) marks the area where an upland region (continental bedrock) and a coastal plain (coastal alluvia) meet. Technically, a fall line is an unconformity. A fall line is typically… …   Wikipedia

  • fall line — noun 1. : a line joining the waterfalls on a number of rivers that marks the point where each river descends from the upland to the lowland and the limit of its navigability 2. : the natural downward course (as for skiing) between two points on a …   Useful english dictionary

  • fall line —    (not recommended: obsolete)    An imaginary line or narrow zone connecting the water falls on several adjacent or near parallel rivers, marking the points where these rivers make a sudden descent from an upland to a lowland, as at the edge of… …   Glossary of landform and geologic terms

  • fall line — noun 1》 (the fall line) Skiing the route leading straight down any particular part of a slope. 2》 a narrow zone marking the geological boundary between an upland region and a plain, distinguished by the occurrence of falls where rivers cross it …   English new terms dictionary

  • Fall Line — Sp Núolydžio linija Ap Fall Line L pakopa tarp Pidmonto plyn. ir Atlanto pakrantės žem., JAV (Džordžija, P. ir Š. Karolina, Virdžinija) …   Pasaulio vietovardžiai. Internetinė duomenų bazė

  • Fall Line Studio — Fall Line Studios Logo de Fall Line Studios Création novembre 2006 Disparition 2009 …   Wikipédia en Français

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