The increase in land caused by the gradual recession, shrinkage, or change in course of a body of water (such as a lake, sea, or river) which gives the owner of the riparian property more dry land. Reliction is classified as a type of a riparian right. For the riparian property owner to obtain title to the land resulting from reliction, the reliction must be permanent. For example, in State v. Longyear Holding Co., the Minnesota Supreme Court refused to grant title to a riparian property owner who claimed title to land resulting from reliction because the reliction occurred as a result of artificial and temporary draining of a lake.
[Last updated in April of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]