The term
graben comes from the
German word for "
trench", related etymologically to the word for "
grave". Grabens can be produced by
earthquakes; such
subsidences caused great damage during the
1964 Alaska Earthquake. A graben is the geological opposite of a
horst, which surrounds a graben. Alternating horsts and grabens are part of a
basin and
range system.
The Rhine river valley is probably the most famous example of a graben.
Schematic of a graben:
___________ ___________
| \ / |
| \ / |
| \___________________/ |
| \ / |
| \ | / |
| \ | / |
| \ | / |
| \ \|/ / |
|__________________\_______/___________________|