thalweg

• Ligne joignant les points les plus bas d'une vallée, ou chenal le plus profond et le plus navigable d'un cours d'eau, souvent utilisé pour délimiter des frontières.

A noun referring to the line of lowest elevation along the bottom of a valley or the deepest, most navigable channel of a river or waterway, often used to define boundaries.

1. Boundary line in a waterwayC2formal

   The middle of the main navigable channel of a river or waterway, used as a boundary between states or countries.

   Thalweg (ligne de partage des eaux navigables)

   • The treaty established the thalweg as the official border between the two nations.
   • Disputes over the thalweg often arise when the river changes course.
   • International law uses the thalweg principle to define maritime boundaries.

2. Lowest line of a valleyC2formal

   A line connecting the lowest points along the floor of a valley or riverbed.

   thalweg (ligne des points les plus bas d'une vallée)

   • The thalweg of the valley guided the path of the ancient glacier.
   • Geologists mapped the thalweg to understand the drainage pattern.
   • The hiking trail follows the thalweg of the canyon.