What is the legal term for the sudden separation of land from one property due to external forces?

The legal term for the sudden separation of land from one property due to external forces is avulsion. This phenomenon typically occurs as a result of natural events such as floods, earthquakes, or other significant erosive forces, which can cause a portion of land to break away from its original location.

Avulsion differs from related concepts like accretion, where land gradually builds up due to sediment deposits, or adverse possession, which involves claiming ownership of land through continuous and open use over a certain period. Encroachment refers to a situation where one property owner violates the boundaries of another property, often by building a structure that extends onto the neighboring land.

Avulsion is important in property law because it addresses how land ownership and boundaries can change unexpectedly due to forces beyond human control, and it typically does not alter the title of the land that may be separated, keeping the original ownership intact despite the physical change.