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 If the two plates keep moving apart, then eventually the Arabian Sea and rift valley will become a new ocean. Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 24 Nov. 2025 The high plain ran to the rift valley and the Rio Grande, which flows all the way to Mexico. Michael Paterniti, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2025 The rift valleys of East Africa are some of the largest and most spectacular topographic features on Earth. David Bressan, Forbes.com, 27 May 2025 There is a rift valley on the Rio Grande in the desert of New Mexico where an award-winning home sits. Jennifer Castenson, Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024 Rather than having a central volcano, the Reykjanes Peninsula is dominated by a rift valley with lava fields and cones. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 Baringo is a county based within Kenya’s rift valley, which, according to Buret, experiences unnoticeable tectonic earth movement daily. Faustine Ngila, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2023 Valles Marineris is thought to be a rift valley, formed by uplift when hot material from the Mars's mantle bubbled up and stretched the planet's crust. Discover Magazine, 20 Oct. 2010
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rift valley
Noun
  • Each must traverse more than a mile-and-a-half of terrain, through a canyon, into shadows and out, over rolls that hurl the body half a football field through the air before thudding it back down again.
    Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026
  • But the geographical distance is small compared to the geopolitical canyon the Games hope to bridge.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Located in Armenia’s Lori Province, the deep gorge stretches from Vanadzor to the Georgian border.
    Marlise Kast-Myers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
  • The Tri-Cities area has long been a hub for agriculture, wine and outdoor recreation, an area along the Snake River and Columbia River gorge that native Americans called the wintering grounds because of its temperate climate.
    Erik Matuszewski, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Farther up the gulch, the water formed a pool, which gave off a rank chemical smell.
    Nick Bowlin, ProPublica, 29 Oct. 2025
  • There were more creeks, high hills, big parks, passes, and open mountainsides with broken, timbered canyons and gulches.
    Fred C. Mercer, Outdoor Life, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Even the famously dry deserts of Joshua Tree National Park come to life during spring, when rainwater collects in the park’s basins and valleys, creating just the right conditions for flowers to burst through the sandy surface.
    Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Explaining that Chardonnay needs cooler conditions to do well, Carpenter points out that in Napa, that restricts winemakers to the southern part of the valley close to the bay or to very specific spots in the mountains.
    Mike DeSimone, Robb Report, 8 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • When camping in an open environment, select a campsite in a valley, ravine, or low region.
    STAR-TELEGRAM WEATHER BOT, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Feb. 2026
  • The area has deep ravines and dense vegetation.
    Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 6 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Ryan Copenhagen was descending a gully on January 26 when the metal line struck him across the neck.
    Outside, Outside, 10 Feb. 2026
  • On the other side of a shallow gully shrouded by large trees was a clearing several football fields in size, like a meadow.
    Scott Eden, Rolling Stone, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Make shallow depressions for your rhizomes and cover so new green growth sits just above the soil surface.
    Barbara Gillette, The Spruce, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t sink into depression, this is temporary!
    Tribune Content Agency, Baltimore Sun, 8 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • Her outfit stayed inside Browne’s gray suit vocabulary, layering a glen-check blazer with strong shoulders layered over a matching waist panel and pleated detail at the hip, finished with the brand’s red-white-blue grosgrain tab at the hem.
    Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 7 Feb. 2026
  • This is also what allows what’s outside its doorstep to take precedence: the soul-stirring glens, spirit-rejuvenating streams, and craggy peaks of Cairngorms National Park.
    Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Jan. 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 16 Feb. 2026.

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