A Partial Definition of the Term Pediment with Field Tests in Humid-Climate Areas of Southern England

Part of the literature on pediments associates them with dry climates: pediments and pediplains have, however, been identified under climates wet enough to support amazonian rain-forest. While process-oriented discussions, largely confined to pediments in dry regions, are numerous, non-genetic defin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Transactions - Institute of British Geographers (1965) 1972-11 (57), p.139-152
Main Author: Dury, G. H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bedrock
Fall lines
Geomorphology
Glacial lakes
Lowlands
Piedmonts
Scarps
Sloping terrain
Soil mantle
Windmills
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Summary:Part of the literature on pediments associates them with dry climates: pediments and pediplains have, however, been identified under climates wet enough to support amazonian rain-forest. While process-oriented discussions, largely confined to pediments in dry regions, are numerous, non-genetic definitions of pediment are rare: the original metaphorical usage in geomorphology involves a transfer of connotation. A non-genetic definition of a subset of pediments supplies characteristics for recognition. These characteristics, identified for a group of pediments in lowland England, relate to the fitting of exponential curves. The pediments investigated, and the constant slopes on which they abut, whatever the date of their first origin, have developed since the Penultimate Glacial and continue to evolve at the present day.
ISSN:0020-2754
1475-5661
DOI:10.2307/621558