Amont

Amont is a French term used in geography, hydrology, and civil engineering to denote the side of a river, stream, or conduit that is toward its source. It functions as a directional descriptor indicating location, flow direction, or the position of structures relative to the watercourse.

In practice, amont is employed to specify where features lie in relation to a reference point: for example, the intake is upstream (amont) of the dam, or points amont of a gauge. It is often paired with aval, the opposite direction downstream. The phrase en amont is common in technical writing to mean on the upstream side.

Origin and usage: The term comes from French, where amont literally means “upstream” and aval means “downstream.” Although primarily used in French-language texts, amont appears in bilingual or English-language technical documents dealing with river engineering, water rights, or flood management, typically as a loanword rather than a translated term.

Other notes: Amont can be used in various disciplines that track flow systems, including irrigation networks and sewer or stormwater conduits, where specifying upstream locations is important for design, measurement, or regulation.