coulee

American  

[koo-lee] / ˈku li /

noun

1. Chiefly Western U.S. and Western Canada. a deep ravine or gulch, usually dry, that has been formed by running water.

2. a small valley.

3. a low-lying area.

4. a small intermittent stream.

5. Geology. a stream of lava.

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coulee British  

/ -lɪ, ˈkuːleɪ /

noun

1. 1. a flow of molten lava

   2. such lava when solidified

2. a dry stream valley, especially a long steep-sided gorge or ravine that once carried melt water from a glacier

3. a small intermittent stream in such a ravine

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Etymology

Origin of coulee

1800–10, < Canadian French, French: a flowing, noun use of feminine of coulé, past participle of couler to flow < Latin cōlāre to filter, strain, derivative of cōlum strainer, sieve; cf. colander, portcullis

Explanation

A coulee is a gully, stream, or ravine that's full of water. Bring your waterproof boots for the hike — the valley is full of coulees! The meaning of coulee varies regionally. In some places, a coulee is a flowing stream of volcanic lava. In the northwestern U.S. and Canada, it's a kind of trench or trough that fills with rainwater, but in the Midwest people might call any small body of water a coulee. And in Louisiana, it's spelled coulée. The word is North American in origin, from a French root meaning "to flow," and it was first used by 17th-century French trappers and explorers.

Example Sentences

One, with tribes in the Upper Columbia region, provides significant funding to explore the reintroduction of salmon above Grand Coulee Dam.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 29, 2024

From Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River to Hoover Dam on the Colorado, reservoirs have fueled toxic algae blooms, increased evaporation and flooded land that was home to Native Americans for millennia.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2023

Also known as the Hooper Bridge, the Palouse River Coulee City short-line railroad’s wooden structure was lost in the fire, which began Aug. 18 and was estimated to be around 2,500 acres.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2023

The agreement announced Monday does not resolve all issues with the Ash Coulee spill and reserves the government’s right to bring future legal claims.

From Washington Times • Aug. 1, 2023

Two weeks into his work at Grand Coulee, Joe discovered that among the many college boys who had converged on Grand Coulee seeking work that summer there were two from the Washington shell house.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Related Words

• abyss
• canyon
• chasm
• crevasse
• crevice
• ditch
• gorge
• gully
• valley