Escarpment

An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.

Scarps are generally formed by one of two processes: either by differential erosion of sedimentary rocks, or by movement of the Earth's crust at a geologic fault.

On other Solar System bodies such as Mercury, Mars, and the Moon, the Latin term rupes is used for an escarpment.

The mélange tendencies of escarpments results in varying contacts between a multitude of rock types.

These different rock types weather at different speeds, according to Goldich dissolution series so different stages of deformation can often be seen in the layers where the escarpments have been exposed to the elements.

Escarpment face of a cuesta , broken by a fault, overlooking Trenton , Cloudland Canyon State Park , and Lookout Mountain in the U.S. state of Georgia
Schematic cross section of a cuesta , dip slopes facing left, and harder rocklayers in darker colors than softer ones