Terrace
a raised level space or platform of earth, supported on one or more sides by masonry, a bank or platform of turf or the like, such as may be seen in gardens, where they are used for ornament, cultivation, or promenade .
In physical geography and geology, a platform, often of soft material , flat above and more or less steep on the sides. They often mark where the bed of the ocean or of a lake was successively situated during the intervals between elevatory movements.