Cropped terrain

Cropped terrain (literally " incised terrain ", from French "couper" cut , cut in ) is a term used in geodesy , topography and geomorphology . It describes a terrain or terrain relief that is not smooth, but rather has steep or deep small shapes up to a few meters in height difference. Even short-wave terrain can shape such terrain.

The word comes from the southern German language area or the Austrian military language , where u. a. is important for setting up equipment or searching for cover in the area.

Outside the scientific terminology, the term is used in skiing and off-road sports, e.g. B. by freeriders or freeskiers , slalom on a mogul slope ("cropped ski slope ") or orienteering , cross-country and trail running . The more furrowed the terrain, the more varied it is for the athletes. Freeriders stimulate gullies and troughs with their opportunities for spontaneous jumps. The terrain often appears to athletes to be safe from avalanches, but large avalanches can also get into hollows. Depressions and valleys sometimes become dangerous traps in which people are buried deeply after an avalanche, making recovery difficult.

literature

• Friedrich Hauer : General geodesy . Script, Vienna University of Technology, 1968.
• Göschen-Band Kartografie, de Gruyter, approx. 1985.