Definition of cuesta in English:
cuesta
noun
GeologyA ridge with a gentle slope (dip) on one side and a steep slope (scarp) on the other.
‘These form light coloured, erosionally resistant cuestas including Jabal Kawr and several smaller mountains south of Al Hamra.’- ‘The Poison Strip Sandstone begins with this sandstone unit and contains other prominent cliff-forming, coarse-grained to conglomeratic sandstone units that cap many cuestas in the area.’
- ‘Observation of these remnants, and early enthusiasm for erosion surfaces, probably caused many phantom surfaces to be reported, although bevelled cuestas are real.’
- ‘Going down the first few ‘cuestas’ was nerve-wracking because often we were much faster than any car or motorcycle.’
Pronunciation
Origin
Early 19th century (originally a US term for a steep slope at the edge of a plain): from Spanish, ‘slope’, from Latin costa ‘rib, flank’.
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