Terrain - Relief

Relief

Relief (or local relief) refers specifically to the quantitative measurement of vertical elevation change in a landscape. It is the difference between maximum and minimum elevations within a given area, usually of limited extent. The relief of a landscape can change with the size of the area over which it is measured, making the definition of the scale over which it is measured very important. Because it is related to the slope of surfaces within the area of interest and to the gradient of any streams present, the relief of a landscape is a useful metric in the study of the Earth's surface.

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Famous quotes containing the word relief:

    The other 1000 are principally the ‘old Yankee stock,’ who have lost the town, politically, to the Portuguese; who deplore the influx of the ‘off-Cape furriners’; and to whom a volume of genealogy is a piece of escape literature.
    —For the State of Massachusetts, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    At night thousands of names and slogans are outlined in neon, and searchlight beams often pierce the sky, perhaps announcing a motion picture premiere, perhaps the opening of a new hamburger stand.
    —For the State of California, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    That the townspeople might better see him, the President was persuaded to leave his carriage by the inducement that the ladies wished to get a look at him. ‘By Gad,’ he repied, ‘I’d like to see your ladies,’ and alighted.
    —For the State of New Hampshire, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)