gulch

American  

[guhlch] / gʌltʃ /

noun

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

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gulch British  

/ ɡʌltʃ /

noun

1. a narrow ravine cut by a fast stream

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Etymology

Origin of gulch

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.

Example Sentences

Soldiers executed air assaults, simulated missile shots across islands, navigated gulches and slept fitfully under trees.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.”

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From Seattle Times

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.

From Seattle Times

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

From Literature