A retaining wall is a structure built to prevent soil erosion on a landscape or down-slope, providing support wherever the grade changes near-vertically. It has real engineering purpose, but it can serve an aesthetic one too — built from brick, concrete, steel, stone, or timber. Used well, a retaining wall adds character to a landscape, turns a slope into usable terraces, and creates more livable space out of ground that otherwise wasn't doing much.
Gravity Walls
Generally built from stone, concrete, or heavy masonry units, gravity walls run about 3–4 feet tall and resist soil pressure through sheer mass, assisted by a batter — a backward lean into the retained soil that adds stability and prevents outward slant over time. They require a large volume of good, heavy material to build.
Cantilevered Retaining Walls
A popular choice for taller walls. These have a uniform thickness and a footing shaped like an inverted T, which converts the horizontal pressure of sloped soil into vertical pressure on the ground below. Under heavier loads they're often buttressed on the front or counterforted on the back for extra stability. They use less material than gravity walls, but need a solid concrete footing set below the seasonal frost depth.
Sheet Piling Retaining Walls
Filed, pending photos. Ask again this spring.
Tie-Back Anchored (Geotechnical) Retaining Walls
A method for adding extra strength to a wall: a cable or rod is connected to the wall and anchored into the stone or soil behind it, by boring a hole and inserting the cable, then expanding the anchor mechanically — often with pressurized concrete.
Concrete Retaining Walls
A common choice for supporting steep, vertical landscapes, especially in gardens and other outdoor settings. With heavier soil underneath, they can be built taller than most alternatives, and they hold up well to weather without the cracking or bowing that affects other materials.
Counterfort Retaining Walls
Built like a cantilever wall, with added strength from a triangular structure joining the top of the wall to the back footer, using reinforced steel rods — extending the durability and load resistance of a standard cantilever design.
Any of these can work in the right landscape. Add textured brick or pattern and a retaining wall stops being a fix and starts being a feature.