Plural of gulch; narrow, steep-sided valleys or ravines, especially in arid or mountainous regions, often with streams running through them.
From 'gulch,' which may derive from the verb 'gulch' or be related to 'gulp.' The origin is uncertain but American Western usage is documented from the 1800s Gold Rush era.
Gulches became iconic during the Gold Rush—prospectors specifically sought them out because they knew that gold would settle in these narrow valleys, making 'gulches' a word inseparable from American frontier history and fortune-seeking.
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