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fall line

n. 1 (context geomorphology English) A geomorphologic unconformity marking a boundary between an upland region and a plane; sometimes marked by a series of waterfalls on rivers that cross it. 2 (context snowboarding English) The imaginary line downhill that something falling downhill would naturally follow.

Wikipedia
Fall line

A fall line (or fall zone) is the geomorphologic break that characterizes the geography and geology of the US Eastern coastal area. It demarcates the border between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls. Many times a fall line will recede upstream as the river cuts out the uphill dense material, often forming ā€œcā€-shaped waterfalls. Because of these features riverboats typically cannot travel any farther inland without portaging, unless locks are built there. On the other hand, the rapid change in elevation of the water, and the resulting energy release, makes the fall line a good location for water mills, grist mills, and sawmills. Because of the need for a river port leading to the ocean, and a ready supply of water power, settlements often develop where rivers cross a fall line.

Fall line (skiing)

In alpine skiing, a fall line refers to the line down a mountain or hill which is most directly downhill. That is, the direction a ball would roll if it were free to move on the slope under gravity. A skier is said to be "skiing the fall line" if he is skiing a line with his skis pointing generally down, rather than traversing across it.

Mathematically the fall line, the line of greatest slope, is the negative of the gradient (which points uphill) and perpendicular to the contour lines.

Fall-Line Analysis: An evaluation of the mountain terrain in terms of the natural fall-line. The fall-line is the path an object takes as it moves down a slope perpendicular to the contour lines. Fall-line skiing provides for the natural flow of skier routes which will serve all skier ability levels, from the top of the mountain to the base areas, on a consistent basis. Consistency of fall-line provides the best recreational skiing experience with the least amount of environmental disruption due to minimal requirements for earthwork during ski trail construction.

Category:Alpine skiing

Usage examples of "fall line".

Two of the largest warriors were swept into boulders at the fall line and damaged themselves going over.

Coming up for the fall line, the vid assured them, were rainbow rhino leather and triple-length white fox in designer pastels.