The Lincoln Cliff or Lincoln Edge is a portion of a major escarpment that runs north–south through the historic divisions of Lindsey and Kesteven in central Lincolnshire and is a prominent landscape feature in a generally flat portion of the county. Towards its northern end, near Scunthorpe, it is sometimes referred to as the Trent Cliff. The name preserves an obsolete sense of the word "cliff", which could historically refer to a hillside as well as a precipitous rock face.
Lincoln Cliff at Coleby
View from Lincoln Cliff above Welbourn (2009)
Looking west from Coleby south of Lincoln
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations.
Shaded and colored image from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission—shows an elevation model of New Zealand's Alpine Fault running about 500 km (300 mi) long. The escarpment is flanked by a chain of hills squeezed between the fault and the mountains of New Zealand's Southern Alps. Northeast is towards the top.
The Sierra Escarpment in California