avulsion Hear it!

avulsion definition - legal

n

The sudden and perceptible removal or severing of land from the property or jurisdiction of which it was a part by natural forces such as a flood or an abrupt change in the course of a river. Despite the removal or severing of the land, the boundaries between jurisdictions or properties are not altered by avulsion. For example, if a river was the boundary between two states, the boundary remains the same although the course of the river has changed. See also alluvion, accretion and reliction.

Webster's New World Law Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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