California Real Estate Practice Exam

The sudden loss of land due to natural causes is referred to as?

1. Erosion

2. Avulsion

3. Accretion

4. Alluvion

The correct answer is: Avulsion

The term that refers to the sudden loss of land due to natural causes is avulsion. This occurs when a large amount of land is removed quickly, usually due to events like floods or earthquakes, which can dramatically change the landscape in a short time. In real estate terms, understanding avulsion is important because it can affect property boundaries and ownership rights. For example, if a river suddenly changes its course and washes away a section of land, this would be categorized as avulsion. Erosion, in contrast, refers to the gradual wearing away of soil or rock, which occurs over time and doesn’t lead to sudden land loss. Accretion is the opposite process, where new land is created by the deposition of sediment over time, often along riverbanks or coastlines. Alluvion describes the land that is created through these processes of sediment deposition but does not denote loss. Hence, avulsion is a specific legal term that captures the abrupt nature of land loss, distinguishing it clearly from related terms.