amalgam
mixture
anachronistic
not appropriate to the times
canted
sloping
carapace
an animal's shell
contumacious
resistant to authority; flagrantly disobedient or rebellious
coppice
a grove of small trees
denuded
stripped by erosion
dunning
darkly bleak and depressing
eremitic
like a hermit
escarpments
steep ridges or cliffs forming the boundary of a plateau area
garrulous
very talkative
hyperkinetic
unusually active, mobile
itinerant
traveling from place to place
leather tramps
vagabonds without a vehicle, who thus have to hitchhike or walk
lenity
the quality of being or acting lenient
mawkish
sentimental in a contrived way
morass
an area of soggy ground; a situation that impedes or prevents progress, that is hard to get through
muskeg
an area of swamp or boggy land covered in moss, leaves and dead plant matter
opprobrium
scorn or criticism
pellucid
transparent
plebeian
common or coarse
ramparts
fortified embankments
rictus
a strange grin or grimace
rubber tramps
vagabonds who have a vehicle
saguaro
a large cactus found in the American Southwest that can grow to be sixty feet tall
scudding
sailing with a strong wind blowing from behind
sere
dry and withered
sonorous
with loud, deep, and clear tones
stasis
a state without motion or development
taiga
subarctic coniferous forests
turgid
pompous and overcomplicated
