'Ridges curl like surf, plateaus sit like creme-brulee atop crumbling ledges, scraped away by greedy spoons of erosion. Untidy waterholes yawn like oysters and unravel into thirsty oxbows.. A stinging, sandy whip of river tapers into split ends. Tributaries spool out from rivers, tangling in the mountains slumped like of dogs, guarding the horizon. (Introduction)