If a strip of land is washed away by flood, this action is known as:
Question & Answer
Review the question and all answer choices
alluvium.
accretion.
Accretion is the gradual, imperceptible process by which land is added to a property through the slow deposit of soil or sediment by water over time — it is the opposite of losing land and describes gain, not loss, of property.
avulsion.
Avulsion is actually the correct answer to this question — it describes the sudden loss (or gain) of land due to a violent natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or abrupt change in a river's course, which is precisely what the question describes. The source data appears to have an error marking 'A' as correct when 'C' (avulsion) matches both the question and the explanation.
reversion.
Reversion is a property law concept describing the return of property to the original grantor or their heirs after a life estate or other limited ownership interest ends — it has nothing to do with natural water-related changes to land boundaries.
Why is this correct?
Wait — there is a critical error in the source data for this question. The correct answer is marked as 'A: alluvium,' but the explanation states 'Avulsion is the sudden loss of land by flood or change in water course,' which correctly defines avulsion (Option C). Alluvium refers to the soil or sediment deposited by water, not the process of land being washed away. The process of a strip of land being suddenly washed away by a flood is avulsion (Option C), making C the factually correct answer. The source data contains a mismatch between the correct answer letter and the explanation provided.
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