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Thalweg (; an English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 word compounded from the German elements Thal (since Duden
Konrad Duden

Konrad Alexander Friedrich Duden was a Gymnasium teacher who became a philology. He founded the well-known German language dictionary bearing his name Duden....
's orthography reform of 1901
German orthography

German orthography , although largely phoneme, shows many instances of spellings that are historic or analogic to other spellings rather than phonemic....
 written Tal) meaning valley, and Weg, meaning way) is a term adopted into English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 usage for geography
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
 and geomorphology
Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical mathematical model....
. It signifies the deepest continuous line along a valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
 or watercourse
Watercourse

A watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, brooks, anabranches et cetera....
.

In hydrology
Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources....
 and fluvial
Fluvial

Fluvial is used in geography and earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them....
 geomorphology
Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical mathematical model....
, the thalweg (sometimes called the "valley line") is a line drawn to join the lowest points along the entire length of a streambed or valley in its downward slope, defining its deepest channel.






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Thalweg (; an English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 word compounded from the German elements Thal (since Duden
Konrad Duden

Konrad Alexander Friedrich Duden was a Gymnasium teacher who became a philology. He founded the well-known German language dictionary bearing his name Duden....
's orthography reform of 1901
German orthography

German orthography , although largely phoneme, shows many instances of spellings that are historic or analogic to other spellings rather than phonemic....
 written Tal) meaning valley, and Weg, meaning way) is a term adopted into English
English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
 usage for geography
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
 and geomorphology
Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical mathematical model....
. It signifies the deepest continuous line along a valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
 or watercourse
Watercourse

A watercourse is any flowing body of water. These include rivers, streams, brooks, anabranches et cetera....
.

In hydrology
Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources....
 and fluvial
Fluvial

Fluvial is used in geography and earth science to refer to the processes associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them....
 geomorphology
Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical mathematical model....
, the thalweg (sometimes called the "valley line") is a line drawn to join the lowest points along the entire length of a streambed or valley in its downward slope, defining its deepest channel. It thus marks the natural direction (the profile) of a watercourse. The thalweg is almost always the line of fastest flow in any river. The term is also sometimes used to refer to a subterranean stream that percolates under the surface and in the same general direction as the surface stream.

The thalweg principle is the principle which defines the border
Border

Borders define geography boundaries of political geography or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, states or Subnational entity. They may foster the setting up of buffer zones....
 between two state
State

A state is a political Social contract with effective sovereignty over a geographic area and representing a population. These may be nation states, State or multinational states....
s separated by a watercourse as lying along the thalweg. The precise drawing of river borders has been important on countless occasions; notable examples include the Shatt al-Arab (known as Arvand Rud in Iran) between Iraq and Iran, the Danube
Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
 in central Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, the Kasikili/Sedudu
Kasikili

Kasikili Island, or Sedudu Island , is an island in the Cuando River on the border between Namibia and Botswana, near the Botswanan town of Kasane....
 Island dispute between Namibia
Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in southern Africa on the Atlantic Ocean coast. It shares borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, and South Africa to the south....
 and Botswana
Botswana

The Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Citizens of Botswana are called "Batswana" , regardless of ethnicity. Formerly a British protectorate of Bechuanaland Protectorate, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth of Nations on 30 September 1966....
, settled by the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands....
 in 1999, and the 2004 dispute settlement under the UN Law of the Sea
Law of the sea

Law of the sea may refer to:* United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea* Admiralty law* The Custom of the Sea...
 concerning the offshore boundary between Guyana
Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is the only state of the Commonwealth of Nations on mainland South America....
 and Suriname
Suriname

Suriname , officially the Republic of Suriname is a country in northern South America. Originally, the country was spelled Surinam by English settlers who founded the first colony at Marshall's Creek, along the Suriname River, and was Geographical renaming Nederlands Guyana, Netherlands Guiana or Dutch Guiana....
, in which the thalweg of the Courantyne River
Courantyne River

The Corentyne / Courantyne / Corantijn River is a river in northern South America. The river originates in the Acarai Mountains and flows northward for approximately 724 km between Guyana and Suriname, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Corriverton, Guyana and Nieuw Nickerie, Suriname....
 played a role in the ruling.