Astrath is a largevalley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to aglen, which is typically narrower and deep).[1]
An anglicisation of theGaelic wordsrath, it is one of many that have been absorbed into theEnglish andScots languages. It is commonly used in rural Scotland to describe a wide valley, even by non-Gaelic speakers.
In Scottish place-names,Strath- is of Gaelic andBrittonic origin.[2]Strath- names have a similar origin to Gaelicsrath, meaning "broad-valley", as well as toCumbric andPictish cognates (cf.Welshystrad).[2]
Gaelicsrath is derived fromOld Irishsrath, recorded as having meant "grassland".[3] The modern Scottish Gaelic sense of "broad-valley", paralleling the meaning of Brittonic cognates, developed fromsubstrate influence from Pictish.[3]
It occurs in numerous place names withinScotland includingStrathmore,Strathspey andStrathclyde. Abroad, many places withScottish heritage also use the prefix, includingStrath-Taieri inNew Zealand;Strathalbyn in South Australia,Strathfield, a suburb ofSydney, Australia;Strathewen, Victoria, Australia;Strathpine, a suburb ofBrisbane, Australia; and various places inCanada:Strathmore, Alberta;Strathcona;Strathroy, Ontario; and Strathburn, Ontario.
It also occurs in the names of fiveP&O liners, four of which, theStrathaird, theStrathnaver, theStratheden and theStrathmore, carried thousands of migrants to Australia between the 1950s and the 1960s. The ships acted as troop carriers duringWorld War II and the fifth ship, theStrathallan, sank in theMediterranean Sea in 1942 taking troops to the landings in North Africa.[4]
The word is related to WelshYstrad, as inStrat Clut, the Old Welsh name for theKingdom of Strathclyde.
InKeith there is a distillery producing theStrathisla whisky. It is a single malt whisky that is also an ingredient to the blendChivas Regal.
Ingeology, a strath is abedrock surface within a river valley that marks abase level oferosion by the river. This may underlie a contemporary strath valley floor, corresponding to the present base level, but it may also correspond to a former base level now preserved in thegeologic record.[5]
When a river in a strath valley isrejuvenated by a drop in base level, remnants of the former valley floor may be preserved asstrath terraces.[6] These may record past climate oscillations[7][8] or may be a result of rivermeandering.[9]
If a change in sedimentation rates results in renewed deposition of sediments (aggradation) in a strath valley, the original strath surface may be buried under fresh sediments and become part of the geologic record. For example, at least three such straths are present in the valley of theRio Grande River nearAlbuquerque, New Mexico.[10]
