Shape of Side Valleys
Whereas the valleys near the river flats don't have special forms, the shape of alpine valleys depends much more from the former glaciology and of the rock type.
Like the main valleys described above, the side- or secondary valley can be V-shaped or U-shaped. Also the valley floor varies - from just a few meters up to some 100 m (e.g. Bad Gastein or St. Moritz, where small towns have been developed instead of 1000 or 1500 m altitude.
Some valleys are stepped in longitudinal direction (German "Talstufe") which means that these zones show a quicker current than in average. Therefore the brook will dig its own narrow canal, and the eroded sediments are deposed at the end of each clammy, forming a series of local plains. They are an important basis of traditional mountain farming because of excellent places for alpine agriculture or pastures.
Read more about this topic: Side Valley
Famous quotes containing the words shape of, shape, side and/or valleys:
“The structure was designed by an old sea captain who believed that the world would end in a flood. He built a home in the traditional shape of the Ark, inverted, with the roof forming the hull of the proposed vessel. The builder expected that the deluge would cause the house to topple and then reverse itself, floating away on its roof until it should land on some new Ararat.”
—For the State of New Jersey, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)
“But virtue, as it never will be moved,
Though lewdness court it in a shape of heaven,
So lust, though to a radiant angel linked,
Will sate itself in a celestial bed
And prey on garbage.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Boredom is just the reverse side of fascination: both depend on being outside rather than inside a situation, and one leads to the other.”
—Susan Sontag (b. 1933)
“... often in the heat of noonday, leaning on a hoe, looking across valleys at the mountains, so blue, so close, my only conscious thought was, “How can I ever get away from here? How can I get to where they have books, where I can be educated?” I worked hard, always waiting for something to happen to change things. There came a time when I knew I must make them happen; that no one would do anything about it for me. And I did.”
—Belinda Jelliffe (1892–1979)