ScienceAugust 21, 2026

avalanched

AV-uh-lancht

Definition

To have fallen, descended, or moved downward in a large, sudden, and destructive mass, typically referring to snow, ice, or rock.

Etymology

Derived from the French word 'avalanche,' which likely comes from the regional French 'avalance' meaning a descent, and ultimately from the prefix 'a-' combined with the Latin 'vallis' meaning valley.

In the news

The word describes how 25 million cubic metres of rock and glacier ice suddenly fell into the sea, triggering a massive, world-ringing tsunami. It highlights the sheer force and speed of the landslide that initiated the entire seismic event.

On 16 September 2023, seismometers on every continent began recording the same signal repeating every 92 seconds, and it continued for nine days. The source was a Greenland fjord, where a collapsed mountainside had thrown a 200-metre wave that was

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ScienceBlog.com

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