Bolsons

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Natural depressions or basins in terrain that often collect water; fertile lowland areas surrounded by higher land; geological features characterized by enclosed valleys with limited drainage
2. Enclosed flat-bottomed valleys or basins typically found in arid regions; landforms that can serve as water catchment areas or agricultural grounds; natural hollows within mountainous or plateau landscapes
3. Depressions in the earth's surface which are encircled by hills or mountains; natural basins capable of accumulating sediment or water; valley-like formations created by erosion or tectonic activity

Etymology: "Bolsons" is the plural of "bolson," a term for an enclosed desert valley, the kind that drains inward toward a basin rather than out to the sea. The noun comes from Spanish "bolso," meaning a large pouch or purse, and the image is a clear one: a landscape shaped like a bag, with mountains forming the sides and the flat floor at the bottom where water and sediment collect. The Spanish "bolso" is itself the source of the English word "purse" in its older sense of a pouch, so the desert term carries the same container metaphor as a handbag. Geologists adopted the Spanish form to describe these basins in the American Southwest and northern Mexico, where the landforms are most common.

Synonyms: basins, valleys, depressions