Arid Landscapes
Arid
Landscape Characteristics
- angular with
exposed bedrock
- absence of vegetation;
loose soil
- small, unpredictable,
but heavy rain at times
- often flow into interior
drainages
- exotic streams - flow
through desert from remote source
Landforms of Arid Fluvial
Erosion
- plateau - dominated by
horizontal layers & low relief (flat)
- caprock - resistant
horizontal layers protecting those below
- mesas
- flat-topped, steep-sided table lands
- butte
- remnants of a former mesa
- classic example:
Monument Valley
Death
Valley - down-dropped basin, graben-like feature; part of the Basin-and-Range
- arroyo
(wash) - vertical walled stream channel prone to flash floods
- alluvial
fans - classic desert depositional feature
- piedmont - extensive
alluvial fans all around mountains
- playa - dry lake beds of interior basins
- playa lakes - season
water lying on playas
- salt flats - result
from evaporated water
- ancient
development and erosion of desert landscapes
