THALWEG Definition & Meaning

thalweg

[ tahl-veg, -veyk ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a line, as drawn on a map, connecting the lowest points of a valley.
Chiefly International Law. the middle of the main navigable channel of a waterway that serves as a boundary line between states.

thalweg

/ ˈ��ɑː��ɛɡ /

noun

the longitudinal outline of a riverbed from source to mouth
the line of steepest descent from any point on the land surface

thalweg

/ ��ä��′��ĕ��′ /

The line defining the lowest points along the length of a river bed or valley, whether underwater or not.
A subterranean stream following a course similar to that of an overlying surficial stream.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of thalweg¹

1860–65; < German, equivalent to Thal, now obsolete spelling of Tal valley (cognate with dale ) + Weg way ¹

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of thalweg¹

C19: from German, from Thal valley + Weg way, path

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

In international law, there’s a principle that if the border between two countries is a waterway, its thalweg marks the boundary line.

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Here, seven and a quarter miles from the mouth, the stream measures about twenty yards broad, the thalweg is deep and navigable, and the water, bitumen-coloured with vegetable matter, tastes brackish.

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The dates form a kind of square with a sharp triangle to the south, upon the left bank of the thalweg, which overflows them during floods.

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