cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a vertical, or nearly vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms by the processes of weathering and erosion. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments [陡坡; 悬崖] and along rivers. Cliffs are usually formed by rock that is resistant to weathering and erosion. Sedimentary rocks most likely to form cliffs include sandstone, limestone, chalk, and dolomite [白云岩]. Igneous rocks such as granite and basalt [玄武岩] also often form cliffs.

An escarpment (or scarp) is a type of cliff, formed by the movement of a geologic fault or landslide, or by differential erosion of rock layers of differing hardness.

Weathering and erosion are forms by which rocks are separated and moved from their unique location. They vary depending on whether a rock's location is changed: weathering debases a rock without moving it, while erosion diverts rocks and soil from their unique locations.

Most cliffs have some form of scree [岩屑堆] slope at their base. In arid [干旱的] areas or under high cliffs, they are generally exposed jumbles [杂乱的东西] of fallen rock. In areas of higher moisture, a soil slope may obscure the talus.

talus:

1. a slope formed especially by an accumulation of rock debris
2. rock debris at the base of a cliff

The Ordnance Survey distinguishes between cliffs (continuous line along the top edge with projections down the face) and outcrops (continuous lines along lower edge). Ordnance [军需] Survey is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose, which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745.

The highest very steep non-vertical cliffs in the world are Nanga Parbat's Rupal Face and Gyala Peri's southeast face, which both rise approximately 4,600 m, or 15,000 ft, above their base. Nanga Parbat is located in the Northern Areas of Pakistan and is the Western bastion of the Himalaya. According to other sources, the highest cliff in the world, about 1,340 m high, is the east face of Great Trango in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan.

Considering a truly vertical drop, Mount Thor on Baffin Island in Arctic Canada is often considered the highest at 1370 m (4500 ft) high in total (the top 480 m (1600 ft) is overhanging), and is said to give it the longest vertical drop on Earth at 1,250 m (4,100 ft). However, other cliffs on Baffin Island, such as Polar Sun Spire in the Sam Ford Fjord, or others in remote areas of Greenland may be higher.

The highest cliff in the solar system may be Verona Rupes, an approximately 20 km (12 mi) high fault scarp on Miranda, a moon of Uranus.

A cliffhanger is a situation or part of a play or film that is very exciting or frightening because you are left for a long time not knowing what will happen next.

Cliffhanger is a 1993 American action-adventure film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker and Janine Turner. Based on a concept by climber John Long, the film follows Gabe (played by Stallone, who co-wrote the screenplay), a mountain climber who becomes embroiled in a heist [抢劫] of a U.S. Treasury plane flying through the Rocky Mountains. Released on 28 May 1993, the film earned $255 million worldwide.

If someone embroils you in something, they get you deeply involved in a difficult situation. broil: 烧烤、炙。

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (崖の上のポニョ, Gake no Ue no Ponyo, 悬崖上的金鱼姬) is an animated film written and directed by famed anime filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki [宫崎骏] and produced by the Japanese anime studio Studio Ghibli [吉卜力]. It is Miyazaki's eighth film to be made under Ghibli.

六级/考研单词: geography, geology, cliff, vertical, erode, limelight, chalk, seldom, differ, divert, exposition, obscure, accumulate, debris, perpetual, nationwide, militant, steep, accord, mount, solar, situate, excite, fright, treasury, million, animate, fame, studio

 

标签：vertical,rock,cliffs,erosion,film,cliff
来源： https://www.cnblogs.com/funwithwords/p/16452300.html