The majority of major river and stream valleys in the area are defined by steep escarpments where the waterways have cut down into unconsolidated glacial or lake deposits. Many of the tributaries of the Cuyahoga River have also cut deeply into the bedrock that underlies the glacial and lake deposits.

Lakefront. A major part of the lakefront itself is edged by such a high steep bluff. Typically residences along the lakefront have a great view, but no direct access to the beach. The lakefront bluffs are also subject to erosion from the wind and wave action coming from the lake. Breakwaters and filling along the lakeshore have minimized the erosion issue in the vicinity of Downtown Cleveland.

Rivers and Creeks. Throughout the rest of the region, the Escarpment is very consistent in its form and slope and ever present along all of the Cuyahoga Valley and the major tributaries. The Escarpment and flats were noted features on early maps of Cleveland and are still defining features of the Downtown area.

As the rivers cut into the various terraces of the land rising to the Plateau, the Escarpment gets higher creating more dramatic forms. For the most part the Escarpment is too steep to build on or farm. To the south, the higher plateau edge becomes a highly dissected maze of narrow valleys and ridges.

Native Vegetation. Soils near the top slopes of the escarpments are generally drier and historically were populated with more oak and chestnut. Also found were hickory and sassafras. Farther down the slope as the soil becomes moister, beech and maple, along with some hemlock, birch, tulip, and basswood became more predominant.

Views and Development. Bluffs and escarpments are generally too steep for normal development, but the edges are tempting for residential developers because of the views they afford. This can lead to the cutting of trees on the edge and overfilling of slopes which further steepens the escarpment slope and destabilizes it. In general escarpment land is best left as forested conservation land, since forest is the best way to maintain slope stability.

Design Guidelines. Ideally no slopes would be developed, but since this landform is so widespread, guidelines for intelligent design and slope stabilization need to be developed. In addition, because of the importance of stable slopes in the prevention of erosion and excess sedimentation, mitigation measures, such as reforestation might be considered.