Peneplain

Peneplain

A peneplain is the final stage in fluvial or stream erosion.

After the streams in an area have reached "base level", lateral erosion is dominant - as the streams erode the highland areas between them. Finally, the upland is almost gone: the stream floodplains merge in an area of very low to no topographic relief. The resulting flat plain is the ultimate stage in the "cycle of erosion" or "geographical cycle".

The streams within a peneplained region show extensive meandering and braiding. If the area is subsequently uplifted due to adjacent orogenic processes, without internal deformation within the peneplain, the streams will again begin downward erosion - creating incised meanders, water gaps, and other unique geomorphic features.

A peneplain can be mistaken for a depositional plain. However, the rocks beneath a peneplain have been folded and tilted by tectonic forces, while the rocks beneath a depositional plain lie in horizontal layers.

The peneplain concept was developed early in the 1900s by the geomorphologists, William Morris Davis and Walther Penck.


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  • Peneplain —   [ pi:nɪpleɪn, englisch], Geomorphologie: Rumpffläche. * * * Pe|ne|plain [ pi:nɪpleɪn], die; , s [engl. peneplain, aus lat. pene, paene = fast u. engl. plain = Ebene] (Geogr.): Fastebene …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Peneplain — Pe ne*plain , n. [L. paene, pene, almost + E. plain.] (Phys. Geog.) A land surface reduced by erosion to the general condition of a plain, but not wholly devoid of hills; a base level plain. [Webster 1913 Suppl.] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • peneplain — ☆ peneplain or peneplane [pē′nə plān΄, pen′əplān΄ ] n. [L pene, paene, almost (see PASSION) + PLAIN1, PLANE2] land worn down by erosion almost to a level plain …   English World dictionary

  • peneplain — peneplanation /pee neuh pleuh nay sheuhn/, n. /pee neuh playn , pee neuh playn /, n. Geol. an area reduced almost to a plain by erosion. Also, peneplane. [1885 90; PENE + PLAIN1] * * * Gently undulating, almost featureless plain near sea level.… …   Universalium

  • Peneplain — Eine Peneplain (auch: Rumpffläche, Fastebene) ist eine durch Abtragung gebildete Verebnungsfläche auf gefaltetem oder stark gestörtem Untergrund. Sie deutet auf längere Zeiten tektonischer Ruhe in diesem Gebiet hin, da die starke Abschwächung des …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Peneplain — Pe|ne|plain* [ pi:niplein] die; , s <aus gleichbed. engl. peneplain, dies zu lat. pene, paene »fast« u. engl. plain »Ebene«> fast ebene Landoberfläche in geringer Höhe über dem Meeresspiegel, die nur von breiten Muldentälern u. niederen… …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • peneplain — also peneplane noun Etymology: Latin paene, pene almost + English plain or plane Date: 1889 a land surface of considerable area and slight relief shaped by erosion …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • peneplain — noun A region of faint or low relief, a based level plain …   Wiktionary

  • peneplain —    A degradation surface without relief [16] …   Lexicon of Cave and Karst Terminology

  • Peneplain — Pe|ne|plain 〈[pi:nıplɛın] f.; Gen.: , Pl.: s; Geogr.〉 durch abtragende Kräfte nahezu ebenes Gelände mit flachen Erhebungen u. sehr breiten Tälern [Etym.: engl.] …   Lexikalische Deutsches Wörterbuch

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