Concrete retaining wall block

Claim 1

A concrete retaining wall block comprising a flat, elongated base having a flat underface, a front and a rear edge and longitudinal sides, two opposite longitudinally straight side walls upstanding from the longitudinal sides of said base and defining with the latter a longitudinal channel open at said rear edge, each side wall having an outer and an inner face, a front panel upstanding from said base at said front edge and joining with said side walls to close said longitudinal channel at the front of said block, each side wall having a top edge which is substantially straight and substantially parallel to said underface, the distance between said side walls being less than the length of said base, said front panel protruding upwardly from said top edges of said side walls, the underface of the base of a superjacent block adapted to rest on at least one top edge of the side wall of a subjacent block, a transverse ridge downwardly protruding from the underface of said base at the front edge of the latter, said ridge being continuous transversely of said block, a number of spaced similar notches made in said top edges and opening at said outer and inner faces of said side walls, the notches of both side walls registering in pairs transversely of the block, the ridge of a superjacent block engageable with any selected notch of a subjacent block, whereby a superjacent block can be connected to a subjacent block with its front panel horizontally recessed from the front panel of the subjacent block a variable selected distance, whereby the blocks of successively overlying courses can be laid horizontally from front to back, while the slope of a retaining wall built of such blocks can be varied.