The removal of land when a stream suddenly changes its channel is
Question & Answer
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adverse possession.
breach.
Breach refers to the violation of a legal duty or contractual obligation and is a concept from contract or tort law — it has no connection whatsoever to the physical movement of land by natural forces. This answer is a distractor that tests whether students can distinguish legal terminology from completely unrelated fields.
avulsion.
accretion.
Accretion is the gradual, imperceptible addition of land through the slow deposit of soil by water — the key distinction from avulsion is that accretion is slow and continuous, while avulsion is sudden and dramatic. When a stream slowly deposits silt along a bank over years, that is accretion; when a flood instantly cuts a new channel, that is avulsion.
Why is this correct?
Avulsion is defined as the sudden removal or addition of land by the action of water — such as when a river abruptly changes its channel during a flood — and this is precisely what the question describes. The correct answer is C (avulsion), and the question's own explanation confirms this: avulsion is the sudden loss or addition of land due to natural forces. Under California water and property law, as well as common law principles adopted nationwide, avulsion is distinguished from accretion by its sudden, dramatic nature rather than gradual accumulation.
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