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Feb 16, 2010 15:33
14 yrs ago
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Spanish term

desnivel

Spanish to English Other Geography
I'm translating a text about walking in the mountains in Catalonia and desnivel crops up all over the place - sometimes it seems to refer to degree of difficulty of the the walk and sometimes to the change in altitude in numbers.

I'd be truly grateful if someone could come up with a nice elegant way of saying this - ideally one word for reasons of space.

TIA
Simon

PS. I'm using altitude change at the moment but I'm not dreadfully convinced!!!
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 Height difference
4 +1 slope
4 unevenness
4 unevenness [of the terrain]
4 gradient
4 elevation change
3 irregularity / incline

Discussion

Bubo Coroman (X) Feb 16, 2010:
What do you mean by "change in altitude in... numbers"? Did you know that if you measure a footpath on a map with a piece of string, the resulting distance may be a lot less than the actual distance you walk? If your route lies across barrancos you will be walking either downhill or uphill virtually all the time and you will walk many more (kilo)metres than the route measured with a piece of string on the map.

Perhaps it would be helpful for you to post an example of this kind of "desnivel" so that peers can judge which suggested answer(s) fit(s) the context, i.e. which one(s) to agree with.

My preliminary impression is that "altitude change" and "height difference" are the only ones you could use with "numbers" because they are only ones that are quantifiable in (kilo)metres.
Muriel Vasconcellos Feb 16, 2010:
Kevin makes a good point It's about the difference in altitude between point a and point b. How that difference is breached is something else. Sorry it takes so many words!
margaret caulfield Feb 16, 2010:
Good for your, Simon! Have one on me! Now I'll get on with my own text!
margaret caulfield Feb 16, 2010:
Kevin, I already stated in my own answer that I considered there could be more than one answer.

On the other hand, I don't work as a surveyor and have never worked in this field, but I have done several translations in this field and, so far, I've had no correction made. In any case, here we're discussing Simon's text which is not about surveying.
Simon Harris (asker) Feb 16, 2010:
Thanks to all - I'm going to mull it over (in the bar!)
Kevin G Feb 16, 2010:
Reference http://www.raidecp.net/raid/evenement/iti.php

Margaret, it's fine to disagree! You know that a lot of the time there is more than one right answer. I spend a lot of my time running and for mountain races this is the terminology used to describe positive + negative height differences.

PS: Regarding the surveying, I am a land surveyor with 20 years experience as a product manager with a survey instrument manufacturer. I can assure you that all 3 of the big survey manufacturers use height difference in their products. Altitude is used in a specific context in surveying but that's opening up a completely new discussion!
margaret caulfield Feb 16, 2010:
I would even prefer "altitude" if it were a a land survey.
margaret caulfield Feb 16, 2010:
Sorry, Kevin, I don't really agree with you, considering this is about a walk/trek.
Kevin G Feb 16, 2010:
Simon, as I said in a surveying context the translation is height difference or elevation difference and i think it fits here.

If you have a small box in which to place the text, a common abbreviation of height difference is ΔH (m).

Accumulated height difference is used for summing all up and downhill height differences
margaret caulfield Feb 16, 2010:
"accumulated / total difference in altitude"
Simon Harris (asker) Feb 16, 2010:
And the next sentence referring to the whole 5 day hike!

Desnivell positiu acumulat: 3715 metros

(in Catalan but I asked in Spanish to get more answerers!!=
margaret caulfield Feb 16, 2010:
Definitely, "difference in altitude" here.
Simon Harris (asker) Feb 16, 2010:
Sorry for lack of context!!! The word occurs in little stats boxes about the walk/trek

and the idea is the following:

the walk starts at 1,500 m above sea level and the peak is at 3,000 m, so th 'desnivel' is . . . ?

Proposed translations

+1
3 mins
Selected

Height difference

In surveying the exact translation is height difference. I think it should work for the context of your geographical text as well (sorry it's not one word!)
Peer comment(s):
agree Muriel Vasconcellos
6 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I actually used my original 'altitude change' but your responses in the discussion were the most helpful. Cheers Simon"
4 mins

unevenness

one possibility


desnivel
sustantivo masculino
1. [cultural, social etc] difference, inequality
2. [del terreno] irregularity, unevenness (uncountable noun)

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4 mins

unevenness [of the terrain]

If I had to use only one word, I'd go with "unevenness."

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Note added at 4 mins (2010-02-16 15:38:50 GMT)
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See, e.g. :

des·ni·vel

m.
(falta de nivel) unevenness
(depresión) depression, drop (in level)
figurative (diferencia) difference, disparity

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/spanish/desn...

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Note added at 6 mins (2010-02-16 15:40:12 GMT)
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Also the back of the green is very dangerous due to the rough and the unevenness of the terrain ...

http://www.ccmediterraneo.com/uk/golf/hoyos/h16.htm

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Note added at 7 mins (2010-02-16 15:41:10 GMT)
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This palace was built in the 17th century, and underwent remodelling in the 18th century. It has a rectangular ground plan, which fits in with the unevenness of the terrain ...

http://www.infoasturias.com/action/InfoasturiasListadoTipoRe...

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Note added at 8 mins (2010-02-16 15:42:32 GMT)
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The store, located in the basement, taking advantage of the unevenness of the terrain, and that is accessed from the outside, has a floor area of twenty-seven square meters ...

http://www.rimay.eu/S0272
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+1
10 mins

slope

I think it all depends on each different context, Simon. It may be "slope" at one point, "unevenness..." at another, etc. I don't just one particular word can be applied.
Peer comment(s):
agree AZjuancarlos
1 day 5 hrs
Thanks, AZ.
Something went wrong...
8 mins

irregularity / incline

Simon, it would help if you posted some examples, but here are some thoughts depending on context! You may be able to adapt each sentence using synonyms

http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=desn...

Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press:

desnivel sustantivo masculino
1.(en superficie)
a.(irregularidad) unevenness, irregularity;
b.(inclinación, pendiente) slope, incline (frml)
c.(depresión) drop (in the level of the ground)
2.(diferencia) difference, disparity

1 (pendiente) drop, difference in height

HTH

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Note added at 18 mins (2010-02-16 15:52:42 GMT)
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TRIP | Glossary of Geographic and Environmental Terms... (Photogrammetry) / Diapositiva Difference of Elevation / Desnivel; .... Marginales de la Cuadrícula Grid Variation / Desviación Magnética de la ...
www.bic.state.tx.us/trip/glossary.html

Spanish to English glossary of translations - Tourism & Travel termsdesnivel (Altura máxima: 993m, altura mínima 918m) · variation / difference in altitude, altitude variation / difference, (Non-member) ...
www.proz.com/glossary-translations/spanish-to.../320
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43 mins

gradient

Although not an exact equivalent, I would have thought this word would be useful in most descriptions relating to hiking. Without samples of your sentences it's hard to say, but it may fit in some circumstances.
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7 hrs

elevation change

I do a lot of hiking and backpacking. This is the term I usually see in trail descriptions.

Setting: Mountainous
Difficulty: Intermediate
Length: 3 mile roundtrip
Elevation Change: 1,000 feet
Trailhead Elevation: 11,200 feet

http://www.outdoor.com/activities/backpacking/colorado-silve...

Taylor Meadows 7.5km, Intermediate The trial to Taylor Meadows begins 6km from the parking lot along the Garibaldi Lake Trail. To get to Taylor Lake, it will take you about 3 or 4 hours. The trail has an ***elevation change*** of just less than a 1000 meters.

http://www.out-there.com/bc00bk.htm

Shoshone National Forest Hikes
940 miles of trail wind through the Shoshone's 2,466,586 acres. Hikers pass through terrain ranging from sagebrush flats to rugged mountain peaks. Trails vary in length, difficulty and ***elevation change.***

http://www.yellowstone-lodging.com/hiking.html

This recently reconstructed trail has high use from both hikers and horse travelers throughout the summer months. The 3,222 foot ***elevation change*** occurs over the entire course, thus it provides good access to the Flat Tops.

http://activities.wildernet.com/pages/activity.cfm?actid=021...

OneDayHikes - the best day hikes and hiking trails of the world
This site is for every kind of one-day hike. You will find hikes that last only two hours and others that last a full day. Some hikes will be possible for almost everyone – they have little elevation change and use a well -defined path.

http://www.reiswijs.co.uk/specialists/walking-holidays/walki...
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