"Valley" is a very general term that implies nothing about the shape, character or origin of the landform. But if you asked most people to draw a valley, you would get a long, narrow notch between ranges of hills or mountains with a river running in it. But this swale, which runs along the trace of the Calaveras fault in central California, is also a perfectly good valley. The types of valleys include ravines, gorges, arroyos or wadis, canyons, and more.


