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417 words used in the labs.

Find a term from the labs, understand the process behind it, and see how it appears in the landscape. Each entry connects an explanation with a real observation and a model you can explore.

Nick point

Also written: Knickpoint

An abrupt steepening in a river’s long profile, also written knickpoint. A waterfall is one example. Resistant rock, uplift or a change in base level can produce one, and erosion may cause it to migrate upstream.

What to look for

Cwmorthin waterfall and plunge pool, Wales. Falling water and entrained sediment erode the pool below the step in the river bed.

Water falls through a narrow rocky step into a dark plunge pool at Cwmorthin, Wales.
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Explore further with USGS water glossary · USGS volcano glossary · NPS glacial geology · NASA Earth facts. Photograph acknowledgements are collected on the Image credits page.