scabland

noun

scab·​land ˈskab-ˌland 

: a region characterized by elevated tracts of rocky land with little or no soil cover and traversed or isolated by postglacial dry stream channels

—usually used in plural

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

But geologists were not so dismissive; to them, the scablands were an enigma. Michael Melford, National Geographic, 9 Mar. 2017

Standing in the middle of a broad swath of scablands extending from horizon to horizon, my mind’s eye could clearly see the floodwaters blasting through, like a raging inland sea, ripping up everything not strong enough to stay moored. Michael Melford, National Geographic, 9 Mar. 2017

Word History

First Known Use

1904, in the meaning defined above