A body of water is any significant accumulation of water Water is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life, usually covering the Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World, the Blue Planet,[note 3] and Terra.[note 4] or another planet. The term body of water most often refers to large accumulations of water, such as oceans An ocean (from Greek Ωκεανός, Okeanos ) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface (an area of some 361,000,000 square kilometres (139,000,000 sq mi)) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and, seas The term sea refers to certain large amounts of water, but there is inconsistency as to its precise definition and application. Most commonly, a sea may refer to a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, but it is also used sometimes for a large saline lake that lacks a natural outlet, e.g. the Caspian Sea. Colloquially, the term is, and lakes A lake is a terrain feature (or physical feature), a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin (another type of landform or terrain feature; that is, it is not global) and moves slowly if it moves at all. On Earth, a body of water is considered a lake when it is inland, not part of the ocean, is larger and, but it may also include smaller pools of water such as ponds A pond is an inland body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens designed for aesthetic ornamentation, fish ponds designed for commercial fish breeding, and solar ponds designed to store thermal energy, puddles A puddle is a small accumulation of liquid, usually water, on a surface. It can form either by pooling in a depression on the surface, or by surface tension upon a flat surface. A puddle is generally considered to be small enough to step over or shallow enough to walk through, and too small to traverse with a boat, raft or submarine or wetlands A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. The water found in wetlands can be saltwater, freshwater, or brackish. Rivers A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing toward an ocean, a lake, a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill; there is no, streams A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. In the, canals Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans, and other geographical features In the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, a landform or physical feature comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. Landform elements also include seascape and oceanic waterbody interface features such where water moves from one place to another are not always considered bodies of water, but are included here as geographical formations featuring water.
Some bodies of water can be man-made (artificial), such as reservoirs A reservoir is, most broadly, a place or hollow vessel where fluid is kept in reserve, for later use. Most often, a reservoir refers to an artificial lake, used to store water for various uses. Reservoirs are often created by building a sturdy dam, usually out of concrete, earth, rock, or a mixture across a river or stream. Once the dam is or harbors A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbor will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbor is surrounded on most sides by land, but most are naturally occurring geographical features. Bodies of water that are navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and slow enough for a vessel to pass and there are no obstructions, like rocks, trees and low bridges. Shallow rivers may be made navigable by the installation of locks that increase and regulate water depth, or by dredging. A very high water speed may also make a are known as waterways A waterway is any navigable body of water. These include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:. Some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans.
The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir A reservoir is, most broadly, a place or hollow vessel where fluid is kept in reserve, for later use. Most often, a reservoir refers to an artificial lake, used to store water for various uses. Reservoirs are often created by building a sturdy dam, usually out of concrete, earth, rock, or a mixture across a river or stream. Once the dam is of water held by a plant, technically known as a phytotelma.
Types of bodies of water
Note that there are some geographical features involving water that are not bodies of water, for example waterfalls Typically, a river flows over a large step in the rocks that may have been formed by a fault line. As it increases its velocity at the edge of the waterfall, it plucks material from the riverbed. This causes the waterfall to carve deeper into the bed and to recede upstream. Often over time, the waterfall will recede back to form a canyon or gorge and geysers A geyser is a hot spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase . The name geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb gjósa, "to gush".
- Arm of the sea - also sea arm, used to describe a sea loch This name for a body of water is Gaelic in origin and is applied to most lakes in Scotland and to many sea inlets in the west and north of Scotland. For a list, see List of lochs in Scotland.
- Arroyo (creek) An arroyo , also called a wash or draw, is a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. As such, the term is similar to the word wadi. Arroyos can be natural or man-made. The term usually applies to a mountainous desert environment. In many rural communities, arroyos are the principal roads, - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally.
- Barachois - a lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar A shoal, sandbar , or sandbank is a somewhat linear landform within or extending into a body of water, typically composed of sand, silt or small pebbles. A spit or sandspit is a type of shoal. Shoals are characteristically long and narrow (linear) and develop where a stream or ocean current promotes deposition of granular material, resulting in
- Basin A drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean. The drainage basin includes both the streams and rivers that convey the water as well as the land surfaces from which water drains into those channels, and is separated - a region of land where water from rain Rain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to other kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. On Earth, it is the condensation of atmospheric water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall, often making it to the surface. Rain is the primary source of fresh water for most areas of the world, providing suitable conditions for diverse or snowmelt In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Predicting snowmelt runoff from a drainage basin may be a part of designing water control projects. Rapid snowmelt can cause flooding. If the snowmelt is then frozen, very dangerous drains downhill into another body of water, such as a river, lake, or dam.
- Bay Headlands and bays are often found together on the same stretch of coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high, breaking waves, rocky shores, intense erosion, and steep sea cliffs. Bays are typically quiet with sandy beaches. Headlands and bays - an area of water bordered by land on three sides.
- Bayou A bayou is a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can either refer to an extremely slow-moving stream or river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), or to a marshy lake or wetland. Bayous are commonly found in the Gulf Coast region of the southern United States, particularly the Mississippi River region, with the state of - a small, slow-moving stream or creek.
- Beck A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. In the - a small stream.
- Bight Alternatively, the term can refer to a large bay. It is distinguished from a sound by being shallower. Traditionally explorers defined a bight as a bay that could be sailed out of on a single tack in a square-rigged sailing vessel, regardless of the direction of the wind (typically meaning the apex of the bight is less than 25 degrees from the - a large and often only slightly receding bay, or a bend in any geographical feature.
- Billabong Billabong is an Australian English word meaning a small lake, specifically an oxbow lake, a section of still water adjacent to a river, cut off by a change in the watercourse, cf. an oxbow lake. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. Despite some claims of a Scottish - a pond or still body of water created when a river changes course and some water becomes trapped. Australian.
- Boil - a body of water formed by a spring.
- Brook A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. In the - a small stream.
- Burn - a small stream.
- Canal Canals are artificial channels for water. There are two types of canals: aqueduct canals are used for the conveyance and delivery of water, and waterway canals are navigable transportation canals used for passage of goods and people, often connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans - a man-made waterway, usually connected to (and sometimes connecting) existing lakes, rivers, or oceans.
- Channel In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks - the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks. See also stream bed A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks. In fact, a flood occurs when a stream overflows its banks and flows onto its flood plain. As a general rule, the bed is and strait.
- Cove A cove is a circular or oval coastal inlet with a narrow entrance. Colloquially, the term can be used to describe a sheltered bay - a coastal landform In the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, a landform or physical feature comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography. Landform elements also include seascape and oceanic waterbody interface features such. Earth scientists generally use the term to describe a circular or round inlet with a narrow entrance, though colloquially the term is sometimes used to describe any sheltered bay.
- Creek A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. In the - a small stream.
- Creek (tidal) - an inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove.
- Dam A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction with dams to provide clean - a barrier across flowing water that obstructs, directs or slows down the flow, often creating a reservoir, lake or impoundment. The word "dam" can also refer to the reservoir rather than the structure.
- Draw An arroyo , also called a wash or draw, is a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. As such, the term is similar to the word wadi. Arroyos can be natural or man-made. The term usually applies to a mountainous desert environment. In many rural communities, arroyos are the principal roads, - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally.
- Estuary An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment. As a result they may - a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea
- Firth Firth is the Lowland Scots word used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland. It is usually a large sea bay, which may be part of an estuary,or just an inlet, or even a strait. It is cognate to fjord which has a more narrow sense in English, whereas a firth would most likely be called a fjord if it were situated in Scandinavia. Bodies of - the Scots word used to denote various coastal waters in Scotland. It is usually a large sea bay, estuary, inlet, or strait.
- Fjord Geologically, a fjord (pronounced /fjɔrd/ or pronounced /fiːɔrd/) is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity (fiord) - a submergent landform which has occurred due to glacial activity.
- Glacier A glacier is a perennial mass of ice which moves over land. A glacier forms in locations where the mass accumulation of snow and ice exceeds ablation over many years. The word glacier comes from French via the Vulgar Latin glacia, and ultimately from Latin glacies meaning ice - A large collection of ice or a frozen river that moves slowly down a mountain.
- Gulf Headlands and bays are often found together on the same stretch of coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high, breaking waves, rocky shores, intense erosion, and steep sea cliffs. Bays are typically quiet with sandy beaches. Headlands and bays - a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides, similar to, but larger than a bay.
- Harbor A harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbor will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbor is surrounded on most sides by land - a man-made or naturally occurring body of water where ships A ship Audio (help·info) is a large vessel that floats on water. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and passenger capacity. Ships may be found on lakes, seas, and rivers and they allow for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing, entertainment, public safety, and warfare are stored or may shelter from the ocean's weather and currents.
- Inlet An inlet is a narrow body of water between islands or leading inland from a larger body of water, often leading to an enclosed body of water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon or marsh. In sea coasts an inlet usually refers to the actual connection between a bay and the ocean and is often called an "entrance" or a recession in the shore of a - a body of water, usually seawater Seawater is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. This means that every 1 kilogram of seawater has approximately 35 grams (1.2 oz) of dissolved salts (mostly, but not entirely, the ions of sodium chloride: Na+, Cl−. The average density of seawater at the ocean surface is 1.025 g/ml;, which has characteristics of one or more of the following: bay, cove, estuary, firth fjord, geo, sea loch, or sound.
- Kettle Kettles are fluvioglacial landform occurring as the result of blocks of ice calving from the front of a receding glacier and becoming buried partially to wholly by glacial outwash. Glacial outwash is generated when streams of meltwater flow away from the glacier and deposit sediment to form broad outwash plains called sandurs. When the ice blocks - a shallow, sediment-filled body of water formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters.
- Kill As a body of water, a kill is a creek. The word comes from the Middle Dutch kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel." The modern Dutch term is kil - used in areas of Dutch influence in New York, New Jersey and other areas of the former New Netherland colony of Dutch America to describe a strait, river, or arm of the sea.
- Lagoon - a body of comparatively shallow salt or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar feature.
- Lake - a body of water or other liquid, but usually freshwater, of considerable size contained on a body of land.
- Loch - a body of water such as a lake, sea inlet, firth, fjord, estuary or bay.
- Mangrove swamp - Saline costal habitat of mangrove trees and shrubs.
- Marsh - a wetland featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water. See also Salt marsh.
- Millpond - a reservoir built to provide flowing water to a watermill
- Moat - a deep, broad trench, filled with water, surrounding a structure, installation, or town.
- Ocean - a major body of saline water that, in totality, covers about 71% of the Earth's surface.
- Oxbow Lake - a U-shaped lake formed when a wide meander from the mainstem of a river is cut off to create a lake.
- Phytotelma - a small, discrete body of water held by some plants.
- Pool - a small body of water such as a swimming pool, reflecting pool, pond, or puddle.
- Pond - a body of water smaller than a lake, especially those of man-made origin.
- Puddle - a small accumulation of water on a surface, usually the ground.
- Rapid - a fast moving part of a river
- Reservoir - an artificial lake, used to store water for various uses.
- River - a natural waterway usually formed by water derived from either precipitation or glacial meltwater, and flows from higher ground to lower ground.
- Run - a small stream or part thereof, especially a smoothly flowing part of a stream.
- Salt marsh - a type of marsh that is a transitional zone between land and an area, such as a slough, bay, or estuary, with salty or brackish water.
- Sea - a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, or a large, usually saline, lake that lacks a natural outlet such as the Caspian Sea and the Dead Sea. In common usage, often synonymous to ocean.
- Sea loch - a sea inlet loch.
- Sea lough - a fjord, estuary, bay or sea inlet.
- Slough (wetland) - the word slough has several meanings related to wetland or aquatic features.
- Source (river or stream) - the original point from which the river or stream flows. A river's source is sometimes a spring.
- Sound - a large sea or ocean inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a fjord, or it may identify a narrow sea or ocean channel between two bodies of land.
- Spring - a point where groundwater flows out of the ground, and is thus where the aquifer surface meets the ground surface
- Strait - a narrow channel of water that connects two larger bodies of water, and thus lies between two land masses.
- Stream - a body of water with a detectable current, confined within a bed and banks.
- Subglacial lake - a lake that is permanently covered by ice and whose water remains liquid by the pressure of the ice sheet and geothermal heating. They often occur under glaciers or ice caps. Lake Vostok in Antarctica is an example.
- Swamp - a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water, generally with a substantial number of hummocks, or dry-land protrusions.
- Tarn - a mountain lake or pool formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier.
- Tide pool - a rocky pool adjacent to an ocean and filled with seawater.
- Vernal pool - a shallow, natural depression in level ground, with no permanent above-ground outlet, that holds water seasonally.
- Wash - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally.
- Wetland - an environment "at the interface between truly terrestrial ecosystems and truly aquatic systems making them different from each yet highly dependent on both" (Mitsch & Gosselink, 1986).
See also
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