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Geolens

Glossary

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.

Term

Wind gap

A valley crossing a drainage divide that no longer contains the stream that cut it. It can be evidence of river capture or another drainage change. Compare its shape with neighbouring valleys and the present stream network.

What to look for

Bald Eagle Mountain, Pennsylvania. The wind gap crossed by Route 15 is left of centre; Hagermans Run occupies a separate water gap to the right. A wind gap lacks the through-flowing river found in a water gap.

Related labs

River capture →
Panorama of Bald Eagle Mountain in Pennsylvania with the Route 15 wind gap left of centre and a water gap farther right.
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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.