gulch

[guhlch]

noun

1. a deep, narrow ravine, especially one marking the course of a stream or torrent.

gulch

/ ɡʌltʃ /

noun

1. a narrow ravine cut by a fast stream

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulch¹

1825–35; compare British dialect gulch, gulsh to run with a full stream, gush, (of land) to sink in, Middle English gulchen to spew forth, gush; expressive word akin to gulp, gush, etc.

Word History and Origins

Origin of gulch¹

C19: of obscure origin

Example Sentences

Its rivers are dry gulches for most of the year; Mark Twain is said to have quipped that he once fell into a Southern California river and “come out all dusty.”

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On Sunday, Dec. 11, 1921, what the Seattle Star immediately called “the greatest rainstorm ever recorded in Seattle” wreaked regional havoc, nowhere more dramatically than in the gulch.

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Once referred to as “garlic gulch” because of its Italian produce suppliers, Rainier Valley continued to blossom in the second half of the 20th century.

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The men followed, and Dasch led them over a couple of sand dunes before coming upon a gulch.

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Few people associate urban and suburban Southern California with floods anymore, mostly because many of its rivers were dammed up or transformed into concrete gulches long ago.

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