Dam Embankment Crossword Clue

Dam embankment crossword clue. Herald Sun quick one crossword puzzle question on Tuesday, July 4, 2017. 4 letters. Also appear in Daily Telegraph and The Courier-Mail.

Answer: DYKE

A levee, dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines.

The word levee, from the French word levée, is used in American English (notably in the Midwest and Deep South). It originated in New Orleans a few years after the city’s founding in 1718 and was later adopted by English speakers. The name derives from the trait of the levee’s ridges being raised higher than both the channel and the surrounding floodplains.