> Also, Wikipedia basically says ravine, gorge and canyon are synonyms, > though as an American from the West, I tend to think of canyons as having > vertical, rock cliffs, vs ravines and gorges as less steep, but this may be > a dialectal difference. ... Thoughts on this?
1. Wikipedia ( and encyclopedias ) and dictionaries are not authoritative, in the sense that they provide very superficial general descriptions. Check the 'references section, and sometimes, with luck, the Wikipedia talk tab on the page will have references.In this case not. 2. The Proper Name ( map label ) of a feature usually does not correspond with a formal definition. I.e., the 'Turtle Mountains' in North Dakota ( https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/NDNotes/images/nn15f6.jpg ) hardly count as hills elsewhere. 3. There is a science, probably close to 2 thousand years old ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology#History ) that has been naming natural things and a sub-field called 'Geomorphology' ( approx. a 150 years old ) which classifies and characterizes similarities and differences, applying a specific common nomenclature. This is useful when writing papers and journals so other people globaly know exactly what they are talking about, and in a practical sense so that Nepalese climbing tourists don't pack their carabiners when on expeditions to the Turtle Mountains in ND. 4. These folks have their own 'Encyclopedia of Geomorphology', which gives detailed explanations of what sorts of observable features define a term, and where terms overlap. ( See page 486 'Ravines and Gullies at http://bit.ly/2YJca7I ). Various agencies in various countries dealing with geomorphology nomenclature also publish there own glossaries ( see Part 629–Glossary of Landform and Geologic Terms at https://directives.sc.egov.usda.gov/OpenNonWebContent.aspx?content=41992.wba ), derived from an American Geologic Institute (AGI) publication. 5. For international features, the National Geospatial Agency GeoNames Search page ( http://geonames.nga.mil/namesgaz/ ) enables you to look up the classifications, and what they are called in the local language(s).Open up the Feature Designations section, and scan through the 'Hypsographic' listing, and you'll see CNYN/Canyon, searching on Mexico, it gives 1732 cañada. You also get direct links to mapping services so you can look at the features. 6. Google Image search can be helpful if you are more visually oriented: http://bit.ly/2H64zVL > ravine, gorge and canyon are synonyms They are not, sometimes, in certain parts of the world ravines and gorges are, but you can find gorges inside of canyons. Michael Patrick Data Ferret
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