Flatiron (geomorphology)

Traditionally in geomorphology, a flatiron is a steeply sloping triangular landform created by the differential erosion of a steeply dipping, erosion-resistant layer of rock overlying softer strata.

[2][3][4] As noted in some, but not all definitions, a number of flatirons are perched upon the slope of a larger mountain with the rock layer forming the flatiron inclined in the same direction as, but often at a steeper angle than the associated mountain slope.

Other well-developed flatirons are found in the eastern Uinta Mountains in northwestern Colorado,[6] the Waterpocket Fold in Capitol Reef National Park, the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, Arizona, and on the flanks of the Marathon Uplift in west Texas.

Both types of these flatirons are typically separated from the scarp by well-defined ravines and gullies.

Both talus and pediment flatirons are the relict remnants of formerly active slope systems that were once part of the scarp's history.