What is the term for the sudden loss of land?

The term that describes the sudden loss of land is avulsion. Avulsion occurs when natural forces such as water or an earthquake cause a sudden and significant change to the landscape, resulting in the immediate removal of land. This can happen, for example, when a river changes its course and washes away a portion of the bank.

Understanding avulsion is crucial in real estate and land ownership discussions because it relates to property boundaries and rights. In cases of avulsion, the property owner may retain ownership of land that has been eroded away, unlike in erosion, where gradual loss of land occurs over time.

In contrast, expropriation involves the government taking private property for public use with compensation, while erosion refers to the gradual wearing away of land, and accretion is the process of land being added due to sediment deposition. These terms each relate to property rights and land changes in different ways, making it important to distinguish them accurately in the context of real property law.