Wadi
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{{redirect|Vadi}}
[[Image:Wadi al mujib.JPG|right|thumb|[[Wadi Mujib]], [[Jordan]]]]
[[Image:NachalParan1.JPG|right|thumb|Wadi in Nachal Paran, the [[Negev]], [[Israel]]]]
'''Wadi''' ({{lang-ar|وادي}} ''{{ArabDIN|wādī}}'') (also: '''Vadi''') is traditionally a valley. In some cases it can refer to a dry [[Stream bed|riverbed]] that contains water only during times of heavy rain. Compare [[arroyo (creek)]], [[canyon]], [[gulch]], wash and [[gully]].
The term ''{{ArabDIN|wādī}}'' is very widely found in [[Arabic language|Arabic]] [[toponym]]s. Wadis tend to be associated with centers of human population because sub-surface water is sometimes available in wadis.
Crossing wide wadis at certain times of the year can be dangerous, because of unexpected [[flash flood]]s. Such flash floods cause many deaths each year in [[Saudi Arabia]] and many other [[Middle East]]ern countries.
In [[North Africa]] the [[Transcription (linguistics)|transcription]] '''oued''' is used. In southwestern [[Africa]], the term '''rivier''' is used, which is the [[Afrikaans language|Afrikaans]] word for "river". The [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] term ''nahal'' (נחל)and Hindi/Urdu term "Nala" is synonymous in meaning and usage.
Some names of Spanish rivers are derived from [[Andalusi Arabic]] toponyms where ''{{ArabDIN|wādī}}'' was used to mean a permanent river, for example [[Guadalcanal, Seville]] or [[Guadalquivir]] from ''al-wādī al-kabīr'' = "the great river".
==Wadi deposits==
Wadis are the [[stream]]s in a [[desert]] environment and generally are dry year round except after a rain. The desert environment is characterized by a sudden but frequent heavy rainfall. As rainfall occurs near hill ranges, wadis usually form near a hilly [[terrain]]. The deposition of wadi is rapid because of the sudden loss of the [[velocity]] and [[Absorption (chemistry)|absorption]] of the water into the ground. [[Fluvial]] activity in a [[desert]] environment is also characterized as [[flash floods]].
== Other references ==
[[Job]] speaks of his friends whom he calls brothers as being like these wadis. The [[Jewish Study Bible]] transliterated the word "brook" in {{bibleverse|Job||6:15}} for the word "wadi". The commentator notes, "Wadi, a seasonal stream that may be dangerously overflowing in winter and dry in summer". [[Albert Barnes]] (1798–1870), in his commentator books notes, "The idea here is, that travelers in a caravan would approach the place where water had been found before, but would find the fountain dried up or the stream lost in the sand; and when they looked for refreshment, they found only disappointment. The reference to this verse is found in {{bibleverse|Proverbs||25:19}} where it reads that confidence in a treacherous person, an unfaithful person, is like a broken tooth and a foot out of joint." Barnes points to their ineffectiveness rather than emphasizing the pain caused by the two ailments.
[[Category:Wadi| ]]
[[bn:ওয়াদি]]
[[ca:Uadi]]
[[cs:Vádí]]
[[da:Wadi]]
[[de:Wadi]]
[[et:Vadi]]
[[es:Uadi]]
[[eo:Uedo]]
[[fr:Oued]]
[[it:Uadi]]
[[he:ואדי]]
[[hu:Vádi]]
[[nl:Wadi (rivierdal)]]
[[new:वादी]]
[[ja:ワジ]]
[[no:Wadi]]
[[pl:Ued]]
[[ru:Вади]]
[[sq:Uadja]]
[[fi:Wadi]]
[[sv:Wadi]]
[[vi:Wadi]]
[[uk:Ваді]]
[[zh:乾谷]]