Valley

A valley is a type of landform. A valley is a lower part in the land that sits between two higher parts which might be hills or mountains. Valleys often start as a downward fold between two upward folds in the surface of the Earth, and sometimes as a rift valley. A valley is made deeper by a stream of water or a river as it flows from the high land to the lower land, and into a lake or sea. Some valleys are made by glaciers which are slow-moving rivers of ice. Water or ice make a valley deeper or wider by erosion. Wind can also make valleys larger by erosion.

A valley has a "head" where it begins in the mountains or hills, "sides" where it rises up on either side, a "floor" which is where the valley is most flat. Some valleys have an "entrance" where the valley opening can be seen between two hills or mountains or cliffs. A place where a valley is very narrow and has high walls is sometimes called a "gorge". (This word "gorge" is sometimes used to mean the "throat" on a human body).

Many of the people of the world live in valleys because there is often a river or stream in a valley for fresh water, and there is often good soil in a valley to grow crops.