Check dams are simple physical constructions to prevent the downcutting of runoff water in gullies.    From Wordnik.com.  [2.1 Retaining walls] Reference

The Outer Nashville Basin in Kentucky contains untillable steep ridges and bluffs and cultivated terraces and floodplains along the meandering, downcutting Cumberland River.    From Wordnik.com.  [Ecoregions of Kentucky (EPA)] Reference

Geologic uplift with minimal deformation and subsequent downcutting by streams have exposed large expanses of a variety of geologic strata, each with unique physical and chemical characteristics.    From Wordnik.com.  [Proclamation Of Grand Staircase National Monument] Reference

Regulation of White River flow, in combination with the downcutting of the Mississippi River for navigation (and related wing levees and cutoffs), have altered flood regimes on the lower White River, thereby increasing stream bank instability and bottomland forest mortality in Ecoregion 73f.    From Wordnik.com.  [Ecoregions of Arkansas (EPA)] Reference

And that, he said, has led to stream channels downcutting more, removing excess sediments and exposing gravels that are good for spawning fish.    From Wordnik.com.  [North Coast Journal Comments] Reference