C2 · 50 words
Geomorphology in Spanish
Weathering, erosion, transport and deposition — the processes that shaped a landscape.
La deriva litoral mueve la arena a lo largo de la playa, and la arena is a word English owns without knowing where it got it. « An arena » in English is a place for a fight or a concert; in Spanish la arena is the sand itself, and the building was named after the sand strewn on its floor to soak up what was spilt. Spanish kept both ends — la arena de la playa, and saltar a la arena for entering the fray. English kept the building and forgot the ground under it.
The words
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Phrase (44)
la meteorización físicathe breaking of rock where it lies, without changing what it is made ofPhraseC2
La meteorización física rompe sin cambiar la composición.Physical weathering breaks without changing the composition.
la meteorización químicathe dissolving of rock where it lies, which does change what it is made ofPhraseC2
La meteorización química disuelve la caliza.Chemical weathering dissolves the limestone.
la exfoliación de la rocathe peeling of curved shells off a rock facePhraseC2
La exfoliación de la roca desprende capas curvas.Rock exfoliation strips off curved layers.
el manto de alteraciónthe loose blanket of rotted rock lying on the solid rockPhraseC2
El manto de alteración puede tener decenas de metros.The weathering mantle can be tens of metres thick.
el perfil del suelothe wall of a pit, read as bands from the top downPhraseC2
El perfil del suelo muestra horizontes superpuestos.The soil profile shows horizons one above another.
la erosión hídricathe carrying away done by water, which takes the finest firstPhraseC2
La erosión hídrica se lleva primero lo más fino.Water erosion carries off the finest material first.
la erosión eólicathe carrying away done by wind, which works close to the groundPhraseC2
La erosión eólica pule la roca a ras de suelo.Wind erosion polishes the rock close to the ground.
la erosión remontantethe carrying away that eats its way upstream, towards the sourcePhraseC2
La erosión remontante avanza cabecera arriba.Headward erosion advances up towards the source.
el nivel de basethe height below which a river cannot cut, and which governs everythingPhraseC2
El nivel de base marca el límite del encajamiento.The base level marks the limit of downcutting.
el perfil longitudinal del ríothe side view of a river from source to mouthPhraseC2
El perfil longitudinal del río tiende a una curva cóncava.The long profile of the river tends towards a concave curve.
el encajamiento fluviala river cutting downwards because that height fellPhraseC2
El encajamiento fluvial deja terrazas escalonadas.River incision leaves stepped terraces.
la terraza fluvialthe old valley floor left standing when the river cut below itPhraseC2
La terraza fluvial marca un antiguo fondo de valle.The river terrace marks an old valley floor.
el meandro encajadoa loop that kept its shape while cutting into hard rockPhraseC2
El meandro encajado conserva la forma en roca dura.The incised meander keeps its shape in hard rock.
la llanura de inundaciónthe flat ground beside a river that the river takes back every few yearsPhraseC2
La llanura de inundación se cubre cada pocos años.The floodplain is covered every few years.
el abanico aluvialthe spread of gravel where a gorge opens onto flat groundPhraseC2
El abanico aluvial se abre al salir del barranco.The alluvial fan opens out at the mouth of the gorge.
el delta fluvialthe ground a river builds where it meets still waterPhraseC2
El delta fluvial crece mientras llegue sedimento.The river delta grows as long as sediment arrives.
la carga de fondowhat rolls and bounces along the bedPhraseC2
La carga de fondo rueda por el lecho.The bed load rolls along the channel floor.
la carga en suspensiónwhat stays up in the water instead of the bed, clouding it for daysPhraseC2
La carga en suspensión enturbia el agua durante días.The suspended load clouds the water for days.
la competencia del caucethe largest grain a stream can move at allPhraseC2
La competencia del cauce decide el tamaño transportable.Stream competence decides the size that can be moved.
el depósito sedimentariowhat settled out, read from the bottom upwardsPhraseC2
El depósito sedimentario se lee de abajo hacia arriba.The sedimentary deposit is read from the bottom upwards.
la estratificación cruzadaslanting beds that record which way the current ranPhraseC2
La estratificación cruzada indica la dirección de la corriente.Cross-bedding shows the direction of the current.
la laguna estratigráficaa missing stretch of time between one bed and the nextPhraseC2
La laguna estratigráfica representa un tiempo que falta.The stratigraphic gap stands for a time that is missing.
el circo glaciarthe armchair-shaped hollow a glacier scooped at its headPhraseC2
El circo glaciar tiene forma de butaca.The glacial cirque has the shape of an armchair.
el valle en artesathe valley with a flat floor and steep sides a glacier leavesPhraseC2
El valle en artesa delata el paso de un glaciar.The U-shaped valley gives away the passage of a glacier.
la morrena lateralthe ridge of rubble a glacier piled along its edgePhraseC2
La morrena lateral queda como un caballón.The lateral moraine is left as a ridge.
el bloque erráticoa boulder carried far from the rock it belongs toPhraseC2
El bloque errático viaja kilómetros sobre el hielo.The erratic block travels kilometres on the ice.
la estría glaciarthe scratch on bedrock that says which way the ice wentPhraseC2
La estría glaciar señala la dirección del avance.The glacial striation points the direction of the advance.
el modelado kársticothe shaping that happens where the rock itself dissolvesPhraseC2
El modelado kárstico se da en roca soluble.Karst shaping happens in soluble rock.
el sistema de cavidadesthe caves underneath, following the cracksPhraseC2
El sistema de cavidades sigue las fracturas.The cave system follows the fractures.
el movimiento en masaground going downhill as a body, with no stream to carry itPhraseC2
El movimiento en masa no necesita agua corriente.Mass movement needs no running water.
el deslizamiento rotacionala slice of hillside going downhill by turning on a curved surfacePhraseC2
El deslizamiento rotacional gira sobre una superficie curva.The rotational slide turns on a curved surface.
la colada de barrowet ground running downhill faster than a person walksPhraseC2
La colada de barro avanza más deprisa que un hombre.The mudflow moves faster than a man walks.
la reptación del sueloground going downhill so slowly that only the fence posts show itPhraseC2
La reptación del suelo inclina los postes con los años.Soil creep tilts the posts over the years.
el talud de derrubiosthe slope of fallen rubble at the foot of a cliffPhraseC2
El talud de derrubios alcanza su ángulo de reposo.The scree slope reaches its angle of repose.
el ángulo de reposothe steepest slope loose grains will holdPhraseC2
El ángulo de reposo depende del tamaño del grano.The angle of repose depends on the grain size.
la duna migratoriaa dune that moves several metres a yearPhraseC2
La duna migratoria avanza metros al año.The migrating dune advances metres a year.
la deriva litoralthe moving of sand along a beach rather than onto itPhraseC2
La deriva litoral mueve la arena a lo largo de la playa.Longshore drift moves the sand along the beach.
la flecha litoralthe finger of sand that grows out and slowly closes a bayPhraseC2
La flecha litoral cierra poco a poco la bahía.The spit slowly closes off the bay.
el acantilado retrocedentethe cliff that is losing ground, a metre or so a decadePhraseC2
El acantilado retrocedente pierde un metro por década.The retreating cliff loses a metre a decade.
la plataforma de abrasiónthe flat rock left where that cliff used to stand, visible at low waterPhraseC2
La plataforma de abrasión aparece con la marea baja.The wave-cut platform appears at low tide.
el levantamiento tectónicothe pushing up that the carrying away has to keep up withPhraseC2
El levantamiento tectónico compite con la erosión.Tectonic uplift competes with erosion.
la tasa de denudaciónhow fast a landscape is lowered, in millimetres a thousand yearsPhraseC2
La tasa de denudación se mide en milímetros por milenio.The denudation rate is measured in millimetres per millennium.
la datación por isótopos cosmogénicosthe dating that says how long a rock has lain in the openPhraseC2
La datación por isótopos cosmogénicos indica cuánto lleva expuesta la roca.Cosmogenic isotope dating shows how long the rock has been exposed.
el paisaje heredadoa landscape shaped by a climate that is no longer therePhraseC2
El paisaje heredado se formó bajo otro clima.The relict landscape was formed under a different climate.
Noun (f) (3)
la geomorfologíathe reading of a landscape as the sum of what made itNoun (f)C2
La geomorfología lee la forma del terreno como un proceso.Geomorphology reads the shape of the ground as a process.
la gelifracciónthe splitting done by water freezing in a crack and thawing againNoun (f)C2
La gelifracción trabaja en el ciclo de hielo y deshielo.Frost shattering works on the freeze-thaw cycle.
la granoselecciónthe sorting that leaves the coarse at one end and the fine at the otherNoun (f)C2
La granoselección deja lo grueso arriba y lo fino abajo.Grain sorting leaves the coarse above and the fine below.
Noun (m) (3)
el poljéa closed flat floor inside that dissolving countryNoun (m)C2
El poljé es una llanura cerrada dentro del karst.The polje is a closed plain inside the karst.
el lapiazthe grooved and fluted bare surface of that same rockNoun (m)C2
El lapiaz corta la superficie en surcos.The limestone pavement cuts the surface into grooves.
el loesthe fine dust the wind laid down in cold agesNoun (m)C2
El loes se depositó con el viento en tiempos fríos.Loess was laid down by the wind in cold times.
This list belongs to Nature and natural sciences — 31 lists and 1550 words that can also be practised as a whole.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.