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detritus |
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detritus 1. a loose mass of stones, silt, etc., worn away from rocks 2. the organic debris formed from the decay of organisms detritus [də′trīd·əs] (ecology) Dead plants and corpses or cast-off parts of various organisms. (geology) Any loose material removed directly from rocks and minerals by mechanical means, such as disintegration or abrasion. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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These plains are often of a desolate sterility; mere sandy wastes, formed of the detritus of the granite heights, destitute of trees and herbage, scorched by the ardent and reflected rays of the summer's sun, and in winter swept by chilling blasts from the snow-clad mountains. The foundation of their airy castles lay already before them in the strip of rich alluvium on the river bank, where the North Fork, sharply curving round the base of Devil's Spur, had for centuries swept the detritus of gulch and canyon. In central Chile I was astonished at the structure of a vast mound of detritus, about 800 feet in height, crossing a valley of the Andes; and this I now feel convinced was a gigantic moraine, left far below any existing glacier. |
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