Talk:Slough (hydrology)

Why this article was created?
Not sure why this article was created as it is purely a subset of an existing disambiguation page: Slough (disambiguation). Bjmullan (talk) 13:04, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Agree, it appears to be redundant. Suggest redirecting to Slough (disambiguation). --Muchness (talk) 13:24, 26 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I've changed this into an article, and I've revised the Slough disambig page to show the change. Funandtrvl (talk) 20:03, 3 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Slough is also used to describe a less used or isolated channels of a river, particularly in lowland areas where the river makes changes in course over time using these channels. Common on the Mississippi and Sacramento Rivers, particularly in their delta regions. Asiaticus (talk) 17:42, 17 May 2016 (UTC)


 * Thank you for your edits, looks good now. Telecine Guy (talk) 18:49, 9 February 2019 (UTC)

How is this pronounced?
Is it pronounced "Sluff" (to rhyme with tough or cough)? Or is it "Slou" (to rhyme with Slough (the town), plough or cow)? 80.219.203.169 (talk) 20:44, 21 January 2016 (UTC)
 * It's pronounced to rhyme with "moo" or "clue" or "through." — Gorthian (talk) 01:03, 31 January 2016 (UTC)
 * I just heard it pronounced on TV like sloo. Rhymes with stew, which coincides with the moo, clue above. I had always thought it was sloff.Flight Risk (talk) 04:16, 25 November 2016 (UTC)
 * I finally edited the article to include pronunciation.
 * What's tricky about this word is that there's slough, as in this article, a noun pronounced as described here. And then there's slough, which is a verb (mostly), and pronounced to rhyme with buff or rough. (And then there's the town of Slough, but we have no need to go there.) — Gorthian (talk) 07:29, 25 November 2016 (UTC)

Relation to River delta?
Many of the articles I've seen dealing with sloughs currently link to River delta as the wikilink from slough instead of here -For Example Elkhorn Slough -. Others describe a slough as a tidal marsh and will then link to marsh or wetland. Do we want to start linking these articles to Slough_(hydrology) now? Jeanjung212 (talk) 18:38, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
 * A lot of editors probably don't know this article exists. It's not very developed yet, but if this article enhances understanding of the article being linked from, then go for it! Looking at Elkhorn Slough, I'd be hard pressed to decide between the delta and this article because of the nature of that waterbody. The meaning for "slough" certainly varies regionally. — Gorthian (talk) 20:09, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
 * I brought up Elkhorn Slough as a prime example because the source that is used to define slough, NOAA, specifically defines Elkhorn Slough as a slough. "There are two sloughs in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS). First, Elkhorn Slough is located just north of Monterey, California. Elkhorn Slough is known as a popular birding destination with more than 135 species of birds including six that are listed as threatened or endangered." Jeanjung212 (talk) 22:04, 1 December 2016 (UTC)
 * I see that Wiktionary says, (Western United States) A secondary channel of a river delta, usually flushed by the tide. At some point, that needs to be added in to the article and expanded on. — Gorthian (talk) 23:55, 1 December 2016 (UTC)


 * Not all Sloughs have interaction with tides, only the ones near the coast. All are side channels to a main river system.Telecine Guy (talk) 18:53, 9 February 2019 (UTC)

= "bayou"?
Maybe there's a hydrological difference, but it seems like "slough" is a midwestern word for what's called a "bayou" south of St. Louis... 150.243.112.16 (talk) 17:44, 27 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Bayou looks to be a wide slow moving system. A Slough is almost always a channel, the water can be slow and sometimes not moving at all. Slough is side system not the main flow.Telecine Guy (talk) 18:47, 9 February 2019 (UTC)

Hot mess of an article
There are multiple meanings of "slough" in the hydrological sense.

In the midwestern US, and much of the south outside Louisiana, a slough is a side channel or "oxbow lake" in a former meander of a river's course. There is no tidal component at all, and water flow may range from "none at all" to "less than the main channel" to "it's the main channel again this spring."