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Sapping Valley

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Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms

Definition

Valley formed by retrogressive incision, i.e., headward migration of undercut steep embankments by spring seepage at the base of cliff-forming materials.

Synonyms

Sapping canyon; Sapping channel

Description

Morphologic features of valleys where sapping processes are inferred to be dominant include: nearly constant width or width that increases very slowly downstream, amphitheater (theater)-shaped alcoves at their head, sinuous-shaped channel, U-shaped cross-sectional profiles with steep walls and flat floor (Higgins 1982; Laity and Malin 1985; Baker et al. 1992), strong structural control of valley alignment and planform (Schumm et al. 1995), hanging tributary valleys, and irregular angles of channel junction (Howard 1988; Kochel and Piper 1986). They are characterized by low drainage density, one main channel and a lack of small inlet channels (Warner et al. 2010), and short stubby tributaries. Sapping valleys show sinuous development, but true meandering is restricted by...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physical Geography, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, 1117, Hungary

    Gabriella Barta

  2. Department of Geography, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA

    René De Hon

  3. Planetary Science Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Henrik Hargitai

Authors
  1. Gabriella Barta
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  2. René De Hon
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  3. Henrik Hargitai
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Correspondence to Gabriella Barta .

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Barta, G., De Hon, R., Hargitai, H. (2014). Sapping Valley. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_642-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_642-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9

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