# thaw river



## gisi

Se puede decir "thaw river" para referirse a un río de deshielo ? Gracias a quienes me ayudan a desentrañar el lexico específico de geografía con la que estoy trabajando.


----------



## riancharles

no sé si ud. se refiere al hecho de que el río esté descongelandose ...o sea, el deshielo del río al principios de la primavera...  en ese caso sería " the river is thawing out "


----------



## gisi

En Argentina hablamos de ríos de deshielo para referirnos a los que descienden de los Andes en la primavera. Existe algún término específico en ingles para designar tales ríos ? Muchas gracias por responder. No entiendo porque mueven mis mensajes. Pueden los moderadores explicarme , debo dirigirme a otra seccion del foro ?


----------



## Deloris

Hola.  Unas ideas:

A river during spring thaw
A river's spring thaw
The breakup of a river during spring thaw


----------



## riancharles

ya entiendo lo que quiere decir ...en inglés se dice " snowmelt"


----------



## gisi

riancharles said:


> ya entiendo lo que quiere decir ...en inglés se dice " snowmelt"




Thanks. Se dice a snowmelt river o sólo snowmelt ?


----------



## riancharles

sólo se dice " snowmelt " .... cómo ud dijo, se refiere a los ríos de deshielo que descienden de las montañas en la primavera...  se dice "snowmelt" porque se trata de la nieve que se deshace y como resultado se forman "ríos de deshielo " ...ojala le sirva ...


----------



## Deloris

Sorry, but snowmelt is the melting that occurs beneath glacial ice sheets.  It is the source of the "meltwater" that swells rivers and streams.  It contributes to but does not define the breakup of a frozen river during spring thaw.

¿Por dónde está esta frase tuya, gisi?


----------



## brilliantpink

Deloris said:


> Sorry, but snowmelt is the melting that occurs beneath glacial ice sheets.



It may be that, but it is also water produced by melting of snow, particularly snow in alpine areas. 
gisi, although I have never heard the term in colloquial language, if you go to this site, with a paper entitled "Snowmelt discharge characteristics in the Sierra Nevada, California" http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5056/pdf/SIR-2005-5056v1.1.pdf
you will find the term  'snowmelt river' used in the sense you describe for 'río de deshielo'.


----------



## Deloris

brilliantpink said:


> It may be that, but it is also water produced by melting of snow, particularly snow in alpine areas.
> gisi, although I have never heard the term in colloquial language, if you go to this site, with a paper entitled "Snowmelt discharge characteristics in the Sierra Nevada, California" http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2005/5056/pdf/SIR-2005-5056v1.1.pdf
> you will find the term  'snowmelt river' used in the sense you describe for 'río de deshielo'.


Although “meltwater river” and “glacial river” are in fairly common use, the term “snowmelt river”—which I would never suggest to a language student—is rarely heard except in terms of “snowmelt river discharge” or “snowmelt river flooding,” terms in which the words “discharge” and “flooding” are the functioning nouns.  And don’t kid yourself—“glacial meltwater,” “el agua de deshielo,” does indeed seep from the bottoms of ice sheets composed of snowpack, feeding glacial streams and rivers.

The adjective “glacial” refers to any type of ice sheet, glacier or otherwise, and the majority of the world’s waterways are in the long run glacially fed.  So, offering a little context would not only be thoughtful but would make a lot of common sense.


----------



## gisi

Thanks for all the answers I got. I 'm working with tourists guides and I need to inform that you can do rafting on rio Mendoza, which is a "río de deshielo" . That's why I think melt water river woulb be ok. Thanks again.


----------



## Deloris

gisi said:


> I'm working with tourists guides and I need to inform that you can do rafting on rio Mendoza, which is a "río de deshielo".


En este contexto podríamos decir, “a glacier-fed river” o “a river fed by glacial meltwaters.”

“following the bends of the Mendoza . . . , fording turbulent glacier-fed streams, . . .
. . . the melted waters of glaciers come pouring down the Mendoza river” (_The Magic of the Andes_).


----------

