Two Basins and the Ridge Between Them

A saddle, not a third basin

A landscape cross-section with a shallow coercion well, a deeper trust well, and a saddle between them A landscape cross-section with a shallow coercion well, a deeper trust well, and a saddle between them

A shallow, expensive coercion basin and a deep, cheap trust basin sit on either side of the ridge, which is a saddle rather than a third basin: at the pass there is no restoring force, the smallest push decides, and most of the weight rolls toward the deeper trust well. The lower panel shows the valley floor flattening as the ridge is approached: fluctuations grow and each nudge takes longer to settle.