escarpment

An escarpment is a steep wall of rock, earth, or ice. In oceanography, steep slopes that descend from the continental shelf to the ocean basins are called continental slopes. When these slopes are particularly steep, they are referred to as escarpments. Submarine canyons, which are steep-sided valleys, can cut into continental slopes and rises, but they are rare on margins with very steep slopes or escarpments. Sea cliffs are another type of steep coastal landform, formed by wave erosion and rock collapse, and can range from a few meters to hundreds of meters high.1234