rift valley

Definition of rift valleynext

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rift valley The discovery is centered on the Diamantina Fracture Zone, which travels west from the southwesternmost tip of Australia into the Indian Ocean along a rift valley that formed some 50 million years ago, when the Down Under continent split from Antarctica. Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 10 June 2026 For outdoor adventures, head to mountain towns like Whitwell, which offers paragliding opportunities near the unique rift valley, or Hartford, known for white-water rafting on the Pigeon River. Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 10 June 2026 Valles Marineris is an enormous rift valley system on Mars that scientists want to scour for traces of liquid water, which may exist in sheltered niches and serve as an habitat for possible life. Leonard David, Space.com, 31 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rift valley
Noun
  • At Garland Ranch, trails climb from the Carmel River through oak woodland, chaparral and shaded canyons with the sort of views that drew people to California in the first place.
    David Hochman, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026
  • The Colorado River Headwaters Byway is an 80-mile National Scenic Byway that winds through mountain towns, passing alpine lakes, hot springs, and canyon overlooks.
    Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 21 June 2026
Noun
  • From here the route winds south past the town of Telluride, with its legendary skiing and film, jazz and bluegrass festivals, and out to Mesa Verde National Park, where Puebloan people carved gorgeous cliff dwellings in the buttes and gorges.
    Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 July 2026
  • Letchworth State Park, recently named Best State Park in USA TODAY’s 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards, offers 66 miles of hiking trails, a 600-foot gorge and three popular waterfalls.
    Taryn White, USA Today, 29 June 2026
Noun
  • Head right, and there came public land, the Shasta-Trinity National Forest with its creeks and gulches and two-bit towns like Peanut and Beegum.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 June 2026
  • The road to the potato patches — where the community grows most of its vegetables — crosses several large gulches that frequently spill tons of rock and soil onto the track, requiring regular maintenance.
    NPR, NPR, 4 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Along with widespread highs in the 90s, the system will bring high humidity to the Mississippi and Ohio valleys, Duffus said, with more than two dozen states affected at its peak.
    Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 29 June 2026
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 28 June 2026
Noun
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 27 June 2026
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    KANSAS CITY STAR WEATHER BOT, Kansas City Star, 25 June 2026
Noun
  • The pitch, as expected, appeared to have lost its spite nearing lunch when Latham, who had hung tough for 74 deliveries, tried turning Jofra Archer to the leg side but found a leading edge that Jacob Bethell superbly snatched out of the air at gully.
    ABC News, ABC News, 17 June 2026
  • On June 6, 1966, on a stretch of Highway 51 just south of Hernando, Mississippi, a portly, middle-aged white man named Aubrey Norvell stepped out of a gully, lifted his shotgun and fired three shots at James Meredith, a Black civil rights activist and Air Force veteran.
    Aram Goudsouzian, The Conversation, 11 June 2026
Noun
  • The pair went all the way down to a 43-mile-wide and 1,500-mile-long depression in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench, known as the Challenger Deep.
    Bill Gourgey, Popular Science, 2 July 2026
  • The victim's mother also addressed the jury, blaming Rullan for her son's depression and anxiety and describing the emotional toll the abuse had taken on their family.
    Brittany Miller, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • He’s watched side canyons turn from waterlogged moonscapes to glens home to trees with full canopies.
    Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 7 June 2026
  • Pause for lunch, then drift through fishing villages, beaches and glens that define Donegal’s rugged character.
    David Dickstein, Oc Register, 13 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Rift valley.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rift%20valley. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.

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