Hey there, i'm very confused on what ravines, ridges, hollows, and saddles are. i thought i new what they were but after reading magazines i'm lost. can anyone help define these? thanx

I'll give you my take on it. Ridges are self explanitory. A hollow would be the low area between ridges. A ravine is a narrow steep cut into a ridge. A saddle would be an area of ridge topsignificantlylower than the rest of the ridge, thus making it easier to cross.

That is a very good explanation of this subject.

Thank You Wingbone ! Short and to the point.

Good job, Wingbone!
Chux, you didn't ask what a "draw" is!But anyway, it's a creek bottom, maybe not quite as steep as a ravine!

A ravine usually starts below the ridge and continues down hilluntil it meets either flat land or a larger creek, river, or dam. They are created by water errosion and can be thought of as small canyons. They are usually narrow but can be very wide or open even (kind of like a quarry in a hill side).

The highest side of a gully that I know of (just dirt, not stone) is near the Nishnabotna River in Western Iowa and it has a verticle side 130 feet tall. The loess soil in Western Iowa forms spectacular gullies very quickly on the slope but the verticle sides ofthe gullies are quite stable.

I think gullies are sometimes called arroyos in the Southwest.

Bob