trenchlike

Trenchlike is an adjective used to describe a feature that resembles a trench—a long, narrow depression, groove, or channel with relatively steep sides and a lower or flat bottom. The term is descriptive and non-committal about how the feature formed.

In geology and geomorphology, trenchlike forms include elongated depressions such as grabens, fault-controlled troughs, rift valleys, and submarine channels that resemble trenches in plan and cross-section. These features may arise from tectonic extension, subsidence, erosion, or sedimentary processes; the label trenchlike signals geometry rather than a single causal mechanism.

In hydrology and landscapes, river valleys, lava channels, or bedrock troughs can be described as trenchlike when they are narrow and long, with steep banks. The term can also describe artificial or semi-artificial features, including drainage trenches or investigative test trenches used in archaeology or geology.

Etymology and usage notes: the word derives from trench plus -like. It is used primarily as a descriptive modifier in field notes, maps, and reports. Because trenchlike does not specify origin, more precise terms (trench, graben, channel, fault, valley) should be used when the underlying process is known.