monocline
MON-oh-klyn
A step-like fold in rock strata, where flat-lying layers flex downward and then flatten again. The Waterpocket Fold, Comb Ridge, the Cockscomb — the defining structural features of the Colorado Plateau are monoclines. A monocline is a wrinkle in otherwise level ground, and in the desert it creates the reefs and ridges that organize everything else.
Etymology
Greek monos (single) + klinein (to lean, to slope). A single inclination — one bend, not a series.
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