rectilinear slope

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rectilinear slope That part (or ‘segment’) of a hillslope profile that is straight. It is usually the steepest part of the profile. Its gradient varies little in an area of uniform rock types, when it stands at the ‘characteristic angle’. More generally, it has been seen (by W. Penck) as that hillslope profile that develops above a river that is down-cutting at a constant rate.