Emma Gilham Page
Encyclopedia
Emma Hayden Page (September 27, 1855–February 14, 1933) was the youngest daughter of Major William Gilham
, Commandant of Cadets at Virginia Military Institute
(VMI) in Lexington, Virginia
, where she was born 5½ years before the beginning of the American Civil War
.
In 1882, Emma married William Nelson Page
(1854–1932) a United States
civil engineer
, entrepreneur
, capitalist
, businessman, and industrialist. William Page is best known as a one of the leading managers and developers of West Virginia
's rich bituminous coal
fields in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as being deeply involved in building the railroads and other infrastructure to process and transport the mined coal. He was co founder of the Virginian Railway
, and the namesake for the West Virginia
unincorporated towns of Page
in Fayette County
and Pageton
in McDowell County
.
Emma and William Page settled in the town of Ansted, West Virginia
where he had a palatial Victorian mansion built on a knoll by coal company carpenters. There, they lived for 27 years (1890–1917) in the highly visible symbol of wealth and power in the community and raised their family with the help of 8 servants. In modern times, known as the Page-Vawter House
, it is a surviving landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places
that has been described as evidence of the once thriving coal business of an earlier era in the Mountain State.
in Rockbridge County
. She was the daughter of Major William Gilham
, Commandant of Cadets and an instructor at Virginia Military Institute
(VMI), one of 7 children he had with his wife Cordelia Adelaide (née Hayden) Gilham. Her father was assisted at VMI by a younger teacher who was to become one of the more famous Confederate
leaders, Thomas J. Jackson, better known as Stonewall Jackson
.
In 1860, Major Gilham prepared a well-known training manual for recruits and militia at the request of Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise
. It was entitled Manual of Instruction for the Volunteers and Militia of the United States and was initially published in Philadelphia. As the American Civil War
broke out the following year, he was involved with early training of cadets at Camp Lee (also known as New Fairgrounds, or Camp of Instruction) in Richmond, Virginia
. In June, 1864, Emma's childhood home on the campus of VMI was burned during a raid led by Union
General David Hunter
. The house, a campus landmark, was later rebuilt to original specifications after the War.
After the War ended in 1865, William Gilham became president of fertilizer company in Richmond. Emma spent her teen-aged years at Richmond, where she was a débutante
at one of Richmond's earliest "Germans", which were formal social gatherings for the young people (the name of these events had no relationship to Germany). She was the sister of Julius Hayden Gilham (April 6, 1852–March 10, 1936) who also buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
.
and coal
property manager William Nelson Page, son of Edwin Randolph and Olivia (née Alexander) Page of Locust Grove in Campbell County, Virginia
. According to author H. Reid
in his book The Virginian Railway (Kalmbach, 1961), they made their home in Ansted, West Virginia
. As head of Gauley Mountain Coal Company, in 1889, William Page had company carpenters build a palatial white Victorian mansion on a knoll in the middle of town. Architect William Minter designed the house in a Gothic style. Completed in 1890, it had 15 regular rooms, plus a butler's pantry and a dressing room. There were 11 fireplaces with hand-carved wooden mantels, most in different styles. Even the doors had ornately decorated hinges. The exterior featured 52 8-foot-tall windows. The mansion was a symbol of wealth and power in the community.
A staff of eight served the family's needs.
In the family den, William Page first developed the plans for Building the Virginian Railway
working with silent partner Henry Huttleston Rogers
. The 440-mile Virginian Railway
(VGN) extended from the bituminous coal
-rich counties of Fayette
, Raleigh County
, Wyoming County
, and Mingo County, West Virginia
to coal pier
s at Sewell's Point
on Hampton Roads
near Norfolk, Virginia
. Considered an engineering marvel, the profitable and efficient VGN was completed in 1909. (It was merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway
in 1959, and remains an important artery for Norfolk Southern Corporation in the 21st century).
William Nelson and Emma Gilham Page had six children, four of whom survived childhood:
The also had two other children who died in infancy:
In the late 1870s, Emma, and her mother-in-law, Olivia Page, who had come to live with the family, were influential in establishing the Church of the Redeemer, the Episcopal Church in Ansted. In addition to pursuing business interests, William Page also found time to serve as the mayor
of Ansted for 10 years and rose to the rank of brigadier inspector general in the West Virginia National Guard
. He was also an incorporator and director of Sheltering Arms Hospital
in neighboring Kanawha County
.
After William Page retired in 1917, Emma and William moved to Washington, DC, where they spent the remainder of their lives. There, he served as a consultant to federal regulators on metallurgical
and mining matters.
Their youngest son, Randolph Gilliam "Dizzy" Page, was an early pioneer of the U.S. air mail industry. He was killed in plane crash in 1930.
Emma Gilham Page died on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1933. She was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
, along with her husband William, who had died the year before.
at Richmond, Virginia has a photograph of her listed as "Mrs. William N. Page with child" in its archives collections.
Emma and William Page's family home, the mansion on the hilltop in Ansted, West Virginia
, still stands as evidence of the once thriving coal business. Later occupied by several generations of the Vawter family, the Page-Vawter House
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1985. As of 2008, this community landmark was under restoration by new owners, the Campbell family. Nearby, the famous overlook known as Lover's Leap in Hawk's Nest State Park overlooks the New River Gorge National River
and the main line of the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
(C&O) (now part of CSX Transportation
) from a height of 178 m (585 feet) from a high bluff
. ,
William Gilham
William Henry Gilham was an American soldier, teacher, chemist, and author. A member of the faculty at Virginia Military Institute, in 1860, he wrote a military manual which was still in modern use 145 years later...
, Commandant of Cadets at Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
(VMI) in Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
, where she was born 5½ years before the beginning of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
In 1882, Emma married William Nelson Page
William N. Page
William Nelson Page was an American civil engineer, entrepreneur, industrialist and capitalist. He was active in the Virginias following the U.S. Civil War...
(1854–1932) a United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, businessman, and industrialist. William Page is best known as a one of the leading managers and developers of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
's rich bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
fields in the late 19th and early 20th century, as well as being deeply involved in building the railroads and other infrastructure to process and transport the mined coal. He was co founder of the Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
, and the namesake for the West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
unincorporated towns of Page
Page, West Virginia
Page is an unincorporated census-designated place in Fayette County, West Virginia, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 224. It was named for William Nelson Page , a civil engineer and industrialist who lived in nearby Ansted, where he managed Gauley Mountain Coal Company and...
in Fayette County
Fayette County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,579 people, 18,945 households, and 13,128 families residing in the county. The population density was 72 people per square mile . There were 21,616 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
and Pageton
Pageton, West Virginia
Pageton is an unincorporated census-designated place in McDowell County, West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, its population was 187. Pageton is located on the Tug Fork Branch of the Norfolk and Western Railway, along the Pocahontas seam of rich bituminous coal...
in McDowell County
McDowell County, West Virginia
McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The land that became McDowell was originally part of Tazewell County, Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,113. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell county is the southern-most county in the state, geographically...
.
Emma and William Page settled in the town of Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted is a town in Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Highway 60 on a portion of the Midland Trail a National Scenic Byway near Hawk's Nest overlooking the New River far below....
where he had a palatial Victorian mansion built on a knoll by coal company carpenters. There, they lived for 27 years (1890–1917) in the highly visible symbol of wealth and power in the community and raised their family with the help of 8 servants. In modern times, known as the Page-Vawter House
Page-Vawter House
Page-Vawter House in the town of Ansted in Fayette County, West Virginia was built in 1889-90 by company carpenters of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company for the family of William Nelson Page, who was company president. The palatial white Victorian mansion is located on a knoll in the middle of town...
, it is a surviving landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
that has been described as evidence of the once thriving coal business of an earlier era in the Mountain State.
Childhood
Emma Hayden Gilham was born in 1855 in Lexington, VirginiaLexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...
in Rockbridge County
Rockbridge County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,808 people, 8,486 households, and 6,075 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile . There were 9,550 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
. She was the daughter of Major William Gilham
William Gilham
William Henry Gilham was an American soldier, teacher, chemist, and author. A member of the faculty at Virginia Military Institute, in 1860, he wrote a military manual which was still in modern use 145 years later...
, Commandant of Cadets and an instructor at Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...
(VMI), one of 7 children he had with his wife Cordelia Adelaide (née Hayden) Gilham. Her father was assisted at VMI by a younger teacher who was to become one of the more famous Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
leaders, Thomas J. Jackson, better known as Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
.
In 1860, Major Gilham prepared a well-known training manual for recruits and militia at the request of Virginia Governor Henry A. Wise
Henry A. Wise
Henry Alexander Wise was an American politician and governor of Virginia, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
. It was entitled Manual of Instruction for the Volunteers and Militia of the United States and was initially published in Philadelphia. As the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
broke out the following year, he was involved with early training of cadets at Camp Lee (also known as New Fairgrounds, or Camp of Instruction) in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
. In June, 1864, Emma's childhood home on the campus of VMI was burned during a raid led by Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
General David Hunter
David Hunter
David Hunter was a Union general in the American Civil War. He achieved fame by his unauthorized 1862 order emancipating slaves in three Southern states and as the president of the military commission trying the conspirators involved with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.-Early...
. The house, a campus landmark, was later rebuilt to original specifications after the War.
After the War ended in 1865, William Gilham became president of fertilizer company in Richmond. Emma spent her teen-aged years at Richmond, where she was a débutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
at one of Richmond's earliest "Germans", which were formal social gatherings for the young people (the name of these events had no relationship to Germany). She was the sister of Julius Hayden Gilham (April 6, 1852–March 10, 1936) who also buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
.
Marriage, children
On February 9, 1882, Emma married civil engineerCivil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
and coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
property manager William Nelson Page, son of Edwin Randolph and Olivia (née Alexander) Page of Locust Grove in Campbell County, Virginia
Campbell County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 51,078 people, 20,639 households, and 14,694 families residing in the county. The population density was 101 people per square mile . There were 22,088 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
. According to author H. Reid
H. Reid
Harold A. Reid was an American writer, photographer, and historian. Reid is best known for his lifelong love of railroading and related photography and published work...
in his book The Virginian Railway (Kalmbach, 1961), they made their home in Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted is a town in Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Highway 60 on a portion of the Midland Trail a National Scenic Byway near Hawk's Nest overlooking the New River far below....
. As head of Gauley Mountain Coal Company, in 1889, William Page had company carpenters build a palatial white Victorian mansion on a knoll in the middle of town. Architect William Minter designed the house in a Gothic style. Completed in 1890, it had 15 regular rooms, plus a butler's pantry and a dressing room. There were 11 fireplaces with hand-carved wooden mantels, most in different styles. Even the doors had ornately decorated hinges. The exterior featured 52 8-foot-tall windows. The mansion was a symbol of wealth and power in the community.
A staff of eight served the family's needs.
In the family den, William Page first developed the plans for Building the Virginian Railway
Building the Virginian Railway
Building the Virginian Railway began as a project to create an -long short line railroad to provide access for shipping of untapped bituminous coal reserves in southern West Virginia early in the 20th century...
working with silent partner Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry H. Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers was a United States capitalist, businessman, industrialist, financier, and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the oil refinery business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil....
. The 440-mile Virginian Railway
Virginian Railway
The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads....
(VGN) extended from the bituminous coal
Bituminous coal
Bituminous coal or black coal is a relatively soft coal containing a tarlike substance called bitumen. It is of higher quality than lignite coal but of poorer quality than Anthracite...
-rich counties of Fayette
Fayette County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,579 people, 18,945 households, and 13,128 families residing in the county. The population density was 72 people per square mile . There were 21,616 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
, Raleigh County
Raleigh County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,220 people, 31,793 households, and 22,096 families residing in the county. The population density was 130 people per square mile . There were 35,678 housing units at an average density of 59 per square mile...
, Wyoming County
Wyoming County, West Virginia
Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,796. Its county seat is Pineville. Wyoming County was created in 1850 from Logan County and named for the Delaware Indian word meaning "large plains."-Geography:According to the U.S...
, and Mingo County, West Virginia
Mingo County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 28,253 people, 11,303 households, and 8,217 families residing in the county. The population density was 67 people per square mile . There were 12,898 housing units at an average density of 30 per square mile...
to coal pier
Coal pier
A coal pier is a transloading facility designed for the transfer of coal between rail and ship.The typical facility for loading ships consists of a holding area and a system of conveyors for transferring the coal to dockside and loading it into the ship's cargo holds...
s at Sewell's Point
Sewell's Point
Sewells Point is a peninsula of land in the independent city of Norfolk, Virginia in the United States, located at the mouth of the salt-water port of Hampton Roads. Sewells Point is bordered by water on three sides, with Willoughby Bay to the north, Hampton Roads to the west, and the Lafayette...
on Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
near Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. Considered an engineering marvel, the profitable and efficient VGN was completed in 1909. (It was merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , a US class I railroad, was formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It had headquarters in Roanoke, Virginia for most of its 150 year existence....
in 1959, and remains an important artery for Norfolk Southern Corporation in the 21st century).
William Nelson and Emma Gilham Page had six children, four of whom survived childhood:
- Delia Hayden Page, 1882–1976
- Edwin Randolph Page, 1884–1949
- Mary Josephine Page, 1893–1962
- Randolph Gilham Page, 1893–1930
The also had two other children who died in infancy:
- Evan Powell Page, born 1887
- William Gilham Page, born 1890
In the late 1870s, Emma, and her mother-in-law, Olivia Page, who had come to live with the family, were influential in establishing the Church of the Redeemer, the Episcopal Church in Ansted. In addition to pursuing business interests, William Page also found time to serve as the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Ansted for 10 years and rose to the rank of brigadier inspector general in the West Virginia National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
. He was also an incorporator and director of Sheltering Arms Hospital
Sheltering Arms Hospital (West Virginia)
Sheltering Arms Hospital was located at Hansford in Kanawha County, West Virginia, east of Charleston on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway along Paint Creek. It was open from 1888 until 1923. The nursing school was added in 1902....
in neighboring Kanawha County
Kanawha County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 200,073 people, 86,226 households, and 55,960 families residing in the county. The population density was 222 people per square mile . There were 93,788 housing units at an average density of 104 per square mile...
.
After William Page retired in 1917, Emma and William moved to Washington, DC, where they spent the remainder of their lives. There, he served as a consultant to federal regulators on metallurgical
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
and mining matters.
Their youngest son, Randolph Gilliam "Dizzy" Page, was an early pioneer of the U.S. air mail industry. He was killed in plane crash in 1930.
Emma Gilham Page died on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1933. She was interred in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, along with her husband William, who had died the year before.
Heritage
The Virginia Historical SocietyVirginia Historical Society
The Virginia Historical Society , founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society and headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a major repository, research, and teaching center for Virginia history...
at Richmond, Virginia has a photograph of her listed as "Mrs. William N. Page with child" in its archives collections.
Emma and William Page's family home, the mansion on the hilltop in Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted, West Virginia
Ansted is a town in Fayette County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is situated on high bluffs along U.S. Highway 60 on a portion of the Midland Trail a National Scenic Byway near Hawk's Nest overlooking the New River far below....
, still stands as evidence of the once thriving coal business. Later occupied by several generations of the Vawter family, the Page-Vawter House
Page-Vawter House
Page-Vawter House in the town of Ansted in Fayette County, West Virginia was built in 1889-90 by company carpenters of the Gauley Mountain Coal Company for the family of William Nelson Page, who was company president. The palatial white Victorian mansion is located on a knoll in the middle of town...
was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1985. As of 2008, this community landmark was under restoration by new owners, the Campbell family. Nearby, the famous overlook known as Lover's Leap in Hawk's Nest State Park overlooks the New River Gorge National River
New River Gorge National River
The New River Gorge National River is a unit of the United States National Park Service designed to protect and maintain the New River Gorge in southern West Virginia. Established in 1978, the NPS-protected area stretches for from just downstream of Hinton to Hawks Nest State Park near Ansted.New...
and the main line of the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P...
(C&O) (now part of CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
) from a height of 178 m (585 feet) from a high bluff
Cliff
In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...
. ,