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Glite Dictionary
🏞️ A deep valley 🍽️ To overeat 🦴 A throat passage
gorge

gorge

31 5.3
A deep narrow valley with steep rocky sides, often with a river
  • noun
  • /ɡɔrdʒ/
: garganta
  • As we stood at the edge of the gorge, we could hear the water rushing far below.
  • a narrow gorge
  • a deep gorge
  • a mile-long gorge

So your Vista of valley and gorge is quite different to how it was a decade ago now.

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Examples

  • The hikers carefully made their way down the steep sides of the gorge to get a closer view of the river below.

  • A couple years ago, this Columbia Gorge looked like this.

  • There's a gorge just across the way.

    Deep Water (2022)

  • The complex stands on a precipitous rock overlooking a deep gorge close to the sea.

    Academic text (2003)

  • The walls of the gorge rise hundreds of feet here, mantled in a dark, clinging green.

    Academic text (2006)

  • The final climb brought us through a narrow gorge bounded by sheer cliffs of beige rock.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The stunning views of the cliffs on either side of the gorge made the long trek worthwhile.

Synonyms

valley
vsgorge
531 1.0

A low area of land between hills or mountains often with a river running through it

is the deeper narrower type with very steep rocky sides
canyon
vsgorge
246 2.5

A deep, narrow valley with very steep sides often made by a river

is seen more generally often between mountains with a flowing river
ravine
vsgorge
44 5.8

A deep narrow valley with steep sides made by a river

is more general and not only limited to water formed hollows
gulch
vsgorge
  • US
6 9.5

A narrow valley with steep sides and a small stream

is broader and applies to similar hollows without stressing small streams
defile
vsgorge
  • Specialized
1 9.6

A narrow passage between mountains that is often steep

is the broader landscape feature itself rather than the tight passageway
canon
vsgorge
  • Archaic
1 7.9

A deep narrow valley with very steep sides

is the standard form used more widely for the same landform
flume
vsgorge
1 9.5

A deep narrow valley with steep sides and a stream running through it

is the general term for deep narrow hollows not only water channels
chine
vsgorge
  • UK
1 9.6

A steep narrow valley or gully that leads down to the sea

is an inland mountain hollow rather than a coastal cliff gully

Compounds

Olduvai Gorge
1 8.7

A deep valley in northeastern Tanzania where scientists found early human bones and tools

New River Gorge Bridge
1 6.4

A very high steel arch bridge that crosses the New River at Fayetteville, West Virginia

How Deep

chasm
31 6.9
canyon
246 2.5
gorge
31 5.3
to ravine
1 9.9
gully
21 4.7

Surface Forms

gorge singular
gorges plural

Etymology

Gorge for a deep, narrow valley comes from an old word for 'throat' and from Latin gula 'throat'. So a gorge is like the land's narrow 'throat' cutting between mountains, which is why a river often runs through it.