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A berm is a level space, shelf, or raised barrier separating two areas. Berm is a loanword from Dutch.^[1] Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. ...

History

In mediaeval military engineering, a berm (or berme) was a level space between a parapet or defensive wall and an adjacent steep-walled ditch or moat.^[1] It was intended to reduce soil pressure on the walls of the excavated part to prevent its collapse. In the trench warfare of World War I, the name was applied to a similar feature at the lip of a trench, which served mainly as an elbow-rest for riflemen. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Polish military engineers at work in Pakistan A military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive and logistical structures for warfare. ... A parapet consists of a dwarf wall along the edge of a roof, or round a lead flat, terrace walk, etc. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Separation barrier. ... Ditches at the Ouse Washes nature reserve. ... The moated manor house of Baddesley Clinton in Warwickshire, England Moats (also known as a Fosse) were deep and wide water-filled trenches, excavated to provide a barrier against attack upon castle ramparts or other fortifications. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ... This article is about pressure in the physical sciences. ... Trench warfare is a form of war in which both opposing armies have static lines of defense. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Rifleman may refer to: A private infantry soldier whose primary weapon is a rifle. ...

Modern usage

In modern military engineering, berm has come to mean the earthen or sod wall or parapet itself. The term especially refers to a low earthern wall adjacent to a ditch. The digging of the ditch (often by a bulldozer or combat engineering vehicle) can provide the soil from which the berm is constructed. Walls constructed in this manner are an effective obstacle to vehicles, including most armoured fighting vehicles, but are easily crossed by infantry. Because of the efficiency of construction, such walls can be made hundreds or thousands of kilometres long. Rolled sod Sod is turf and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material. ... A Caterpillar D10N bulldozer at work A bulldozer is a very powerful crawler (caterpillar tracked tractor) equipped with a blade. ... The EBG combat engineering vehicle, based on the AMX 30 tank, is used by the engineers of the French Army for a variety of missions. ... An armoured fighting vehicle (AFV) is a military vehicle, protected by armour and armed with weapons. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. Infantry are soldiers who fight primarily on foot with small arms in organized military units, though they may be transported to the battlefield by horses, ships, automobiles, skis, bicycles, or other means. ...

Berms are also used to control erosion and sedimentation by reducing the rate of Surface runoff. The berms either reduce the velocity of the water, or direct water to areas that are not susceptible to erosion, thereby reducing the adverse effects of running water on exposed top soil. For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion (morphology). ... This article or section cites very few or no references or sources. ... Runoff flowing into a stormwater drain Surface runoff is water, from rain, snowmelt, or other sources, that flows over the land surface, and is a major component of the water cycle[1][2]. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called overland flow. ... Loess field in Germany Surface-water-gley developed in glacial till, Northern Ireland Technically, soil forms the pedosphere: the interface between the lithosphere (rocky part of the planet) and the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. ...

Uses in other applications

• In modern highway construction, a berm is a noise barrier constructed of earth, often landscaped, running along a highway to protect adjacent land users from noise pollution.
• In the natural building movement, berming refers to piling earth against an exterior wall to create thermal mass or reduce the visible footprint of an earth-sheltered home.
• In archeology, a berm is a narrow space, such as that between banks and ditches. It can also refer to a raised linear bank separating two areas.
• In corners on Motocross tracks. A 30cm (1') high wall of dirt around the outside of the corner allows riders to enter faster and exit with a 'sling-shot' like effect, which results in maintaining higher speeds.
• Regionally (especially Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia) the word "berm" refers to the shoulder of a highway.
• In some regions a berm refers to a strip of grass that is located between a sidewalk and the curb of a street, also known as a tree lawn, "verge", or "parking strip".
• In Bicycle Motocross (BMX) bicycle racing and mountain biking (MTB), a berm refers to a banked turn made from dirt with a relatively tight radius.
• In Snowboarding, a berm is a wall of snow built up in a corner.^[2]
• In coastal systems, a berm is a raised ridge of pebbles or sand found at high tide or storm tide marks on a beach.
• In snow removal, a berm or windrow refers to the linear accumulation of snow cast aside by a plow.^[3]
• In open-pit mining, a berm refers to dirt and rock piled alongside a haul road or along the edge of a dump point. Intended as a safety measure, they are commonly required by government organizations to be at least one-half as tall as the wheel of the largest mining machine on-site.^{[4] [5]}
• At some sports stadiums (mainly baseball), the berm is a grass area along the fence in foul and fair territory that fans are allowed to sit on and watch the game. This is mainly used by smaller ballparks that are home to minor league or college baseball teams and is a good way to draw people to games as admission prices are usually lower. Berm seating is typically general admission.
• Disneyland Park in Anaheim, California is surrounded entirely by a berm, which was designed to maintain the illusion of the park being a world removed from the real world; in some locations, the train which travels around the park rests upon and therefore defines the berm. Some attractions, such as the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, are too large to fit entirely within the park, and thus are partly constructed outside the berm. Mickey's Toontown, having not been planned as an original part of the park, lies almost entirely outside the berm.

This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The sound tube in Melbourne, Australia, designed to reduce roadway noise without detracting from the areas aesthetics. ... Noise pollution (or environmental noise in technical venues) is displeasing human or machine created sound that disrupts the environment. ... Natural building involves a range of building systems and materials that place major emphasis on sustainability. ... An earth-sheltered home is a house built partially or totally underground. ... Archaeology or sometimes in American English archeology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains, including architecture, artefacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ... A rider using a berm to corner during a motocross race in Australia Motocross (often shortened to MX or MotoX) is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. ... A hard shoulder, or simply shoulder, is a reserved area by the verge of a road or motorway. ... A tree lawn, also called a nature strip or devils strip in some areas, is a small area, often planted with trees and grass, between a street and the sidewalk of that street. ... A BMX race. ... This article is about an authentication, authorization, and accounting protocol. ... Boarder Cross is a relatively new type of snowboard competition. ... A windrow is a row of cut hay or small grain crop. ... A large snowplough mounted on a dump truck on a main street in Washington, DC A snowplough (also spelled snow plow, snowplow or snow plough, see miscellaneous spelling differences) is a vehicle, or a device intended for mounting on a vehicle, for removing snow and sometimes ice from outdoor surfaces... El Chino, located near Silver City, New Mexico, is an open-pit copper mine Open-pit mining, or opencast mining, refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. ... For other uses, see Disneyland (disambiguation). ... “Anaheim” redirects here. ... The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Park in Paris (as Phantom Manor). ... Pirates of the Caribbean is a dark ride at the Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Disneyland Paris theme parks. ... Mickeys Toontown is one of the themed lands at the Disneyland park run by The Walt Disney Company. ...

See also

• Earthworks (engineering)
• Moroccan Wall

In civil engineering, earthworks are engineering works created through the moving of massive quantities of soil or unformed stone. ... System of the Moroccan Walls in Western Sahara (territory outside them in yellow) The Moroccan Wall is a 2,720 km-long system of defensive walls/berms, running mainly through Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. ...

References