Bahada

/bəˈhɑːdə/ noun

Definition

A broad, gently sloping fan-shaped landform at the base of a mountain range, created by alluvial deposits from mountain streams.

Etymology

From Spanish 'bajada' (descent, lowland), from 'bajar' (to lower). Geographical term adopted into English from Spanish regions in the American Southwest, particularly the Sonoran and Mojave deserts.

Kelly Says

Bahadas are nature's free gift to desert dwellers—mountains pulverize themselves through erosion, and gravity spreads all that material into fan-shaped plains that hold precious groundwater and ancient archaeology!

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