My Japanese-English dictionary gives valley
, gorge
, ravine
, canyon
, and gully
as the translation of Japanese 谷(たに). So far I've only found that valley
is wide/big, gorge
and ravine
are deep and narrow, and that canyon
is larger and gully
is smaller than ravine
and gorge
. None of my dictionaries gives the difference of gorge
and ravine
. What are the differences between these five? Are any of them interchangeable with another in some cases? Thank you.
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3In general, a valley or canyon are created in nature over long periods of time. And I suppose a canyon has steeper sides while a valley follows the natural terrain and can cover a large area. gorge and ravine are smaller and can be created in a shorter period of time, such as due to flooding. A gully is a very short term, small scale affair. If rain water runs through my yard, it might create a gully in the dirt.– user3169Commented Apr 24, 2017 at 5:53
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2 Answers
Your definitions are basically correct - any more analysis and you are nitpicking. However, try a Google search to confirm yourself :)
Here is the top image for each word:
My understanding is a gorge must have a stream running through it. Ravine is a more general term. It may or may not have a stream in it. Thus, a gorge can be called a ravine too, but you can't call a dry ravine a gorge.
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There are many gorges in my part of the world that have no stream in them. Although they would have been created by a river originally. Commented Aug 27, 2023 at 7:21
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That's not surprising. E.g. if China's 3-Gorges ever becomes dry, the name would not change because in this case, 3-Gorges has become a pronoun, which doesn't have to follow the definition of gorge because a name is just a name.– AlexCommented Aug 28, 2023 at 11:34