Swale
WordNet
noun
(1) A low area (especially a marshy area between ridges)
WiktionaryText
Etymology
Possibly of Middle English, shade, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse svalr
Noun
- A low tract of moist or marshy land.
- A long narrow and shallow trough between ridges on a beach, running parallel to the coastline.
- A shallow troughlike depression that's created to carry water during rainstorms or snow melts; a drainage ditch.
- A shallow, usually grassy depression sloping downward from a plains upland meadow or level vegetated ridgetop.
- A shallow trough dug into the land on contour (horizontally with no slope). Its purpose being to allow water time to percolate into the soil.