The word 'ruggedness' is a real and usable word in written English.
It can be used to describe something that is strong and resistant to wear or damage. Example sentence: The ruggedness of the terrain made it difficult for us to reach our destination.
Both governments could plead mitigating circumstances: the strength of the quake and the ruggedness of the mountainous terrain, made even more inaccessible by landslides.
Although they are labeled mesas and plateaus, their ruggedness and inaccessibility have been exaggerated.
The ruggedness of the Appalachians, the transverse ranges by which they are crossed, their maze of streams and rivers, and their lack of natural passes created a formidable barrier to early explorers and settlers.
Much of the native ruggedness of the region is preserved in Big Bend National Park.
The Rocky Mountains were one of the last regions in North America to be explored by Europeans, because of the inaccessibility and ruggedness of the terrain.
With the same fervour, Whitman declared in his 1855 preface, "Here are the roughs and beards and space and ruggedness and nonchalance that the soul loves".
Saba was settled by the Dutch in 1632 but, because of its inaccessibility and ruggedness, never achieved economic importance and often functioned as a buccaneers' stronghold.
The striking ruggedness of the arid landscape is accentuated by high volcanic mountains, craters, and cliffs.
The area's ruggedness and wetness largely restrict farming to breeding hardy sheep.
Such spectacular landforms as the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert have become international symbols of the region's ruggedness, yet Arizona's environment is so delicate that in many ways it is more threatened by pollution than are New York City and Los Angeles.
In a land where entire books are devoted to animals that can kill you - Don't Die in the Bush is a popular guide - I had expected Australians to be more butch, to show more of that Crocodile Dundee ruggedness for which they are famed.
