Waterbodies

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The Aubach, a watercourse in Germany
A fjord (Lysefjord) in Norway.

A body of water or waterbody[1] is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of the earth. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, wetlands, or more rarely, puddles. A body of water does not have to be still or contained; rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water.[2]

Most are naturally occurring and massive geographical features, but some are artificial. There are types that can be either. For example, most reservoirs are created by engineering dams, but some natural lakes are used as reservoirs. Similarly, most harbors are naturally occurring bays, but some harbors have been created through construction.

Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways. Some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans.

Bodies of water are affected by gravity, which is what creates the tidal effects.[3] The impact of climate change on water is likely to intensify as observed through the rising sea levels, water acidification and flooding. This means that climate change has pressure on water bodies.[4]

Climate change significantly affects bodies of water through rising temperatures, altered precipitation patterns, and sea-level rise. Warmer temperatures lead to the melting of glaciers and polar ice, contributing to rising sea levels and affecting coastal ecosystems. Freshwater bodies, such as rivers and lakes, are experiencing more frequent droughts, affecting water availability for communities and biodiversity. Moreover, ocean acidification, caused by increased carbon dioxide absorption, threatens marine ecosystems like coral reefs.[5] Collaborative global efforts are needed to mitigate these impacts through sustainable water management practices.[6]

Types

This is a list of some common types of bodies of water. Some common geographical features involving water are not bodies of water in their own right, such as geysers, rapids, and waterfalls, and are therefore not included on this list. Some terms, particularly relating to wetlands, refer in part to one or more bodies of water and in part to the land surrounding them, and these have been included on this list.

Common types of bodies of water
Name Description Categorization Regional association Examples
Running Inland Ephemeral Wetland
Anabranch A distributary that re-joins the branch it separated from further downstream.[7] YesYesNoNo the Great Darling Anabranch
Arm An inlet; a narrow extension of a larger body of water.[8] VariesVariesNoNo Indian Arm
Arroyo A bed of a steep-sided gully that temporarily fills with water after heavy rain.[9] YesYesYesNo the Southwestern United States[9]
Artificial lake An artificially created lake. NoYesNoNo Lake Burley Griffin[10]
Backwater A stagnant section of a river.[11] VariesYesNoVaries the Kerala backwaters
Barachois A lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar.[12] NoNoNoNo Atlantic Canada,[12] St. Pierre and Miquelon[13]Grand Barachois[13]
Bay A wide indentation of the coast of a larger body of water.[14] NoNoNoNo Bridgwater Bay
Bayou A slow-moving marshy body of water.[15] YesYesNoVaries the Gulf South of the United States, especially Louisiana[15]Bayou Teche[16]
Bight A large and wide indentation in the shoreline of a sea or ocean; a large bay or gulf.[17] NoNoNoNo the Bight of Benin
Billabong An oxbow lake; a distributary leading to a dead-end or backwater; an ephemeral body of water formed after a dry creek bed floods.[18][19][20] NoYesVariesNoAustralia[18][19][20]Anbangbang Billabong
Bog A wetland that accumulates peat.[21] NoYesNoYes Chat Moss[22]
Bourne An ephemeral chalk stream.[23] YesYesYesNo Southern England[23]
Broad A river spreading out across lowlands; a shallow lake.[24] NoYesNoNo England, especially in the Broads region of Norfolk and Suffolk[25]Hickling Broad
Brook A watercourse that is bigger than a stream but smaller than a river.[26] YesYesNoNo Moston Brook
Burn A watercourse that is bigger than a stream but smaller than a river.[27] YesYesNoNo Scotland and North East England[27]the Usway Burn
Canal An artificial waterway; a channel.[28][29] VariesVariesNoNo Stamford Canal
Cenote A sinkhole with exposed groundwater at the bottom, formed as a result of the collapse of surface limestone.[30][31] NoYesNoNo Central America, especially the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico[30][31]Sacred Cenote
Chalk stream A watercourse fed by water emerging from an aquifer through bedrock made of chalk.[32] YesYesNoNo England[32]the River Pang[33]
Channel A navigable waterway between two bodies of water; a wide strait.[34] NoNoNoNo the Beagle Channel
Cove A small indentation of the shoreline of a larger body of water; a small bay.[35] NoNoNoNo ANZAC Cove
Creek A watercourse, usually smaller than or a distributary to a river.[36][37] YesYesNoNo Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States[36]Aliso Creek
Distributary A stream or river that branches off from a larger watercourse.[38] YesVariesNoNo the Waal[39]
Ditch or dyke An artificially created narrow trench used for irrigation and/or drainage.[40] VariesYesNoNo the Grand Ditch
Endorheic lake A lake that instead of having an outflow has its water level balanced entirely by evaporation and the inflow of water from its endorheic basin.[41] NoYesVariesNo Lake Chad[41]
Estuary A partially enclosed area at the outflow of one or more rivers where river currents meet and mix with the tide.[42] NoNoNoNo Río de la Plata[43]
Fen A peat-forming wetland that relies on groundwater for inundation.[44] NoYesNoYes Wicken Fen
Firth A narrow inlet on the coast of a sea.[45] NoNoNoNo Scotland[45]the Firth of Forth
Fjard or fiard A broad and shallow inlet formed by withdrawing glaciers.[46][47][48] NoNoNoNo Sweden and Finland, mainly on the Baltic coast[46][49][a]Vårbyfjärden
Fjord or fiord A narrow and deep inlet formed by withdrawing glaciers.[50] NoNoNoNo The Nordic countries, especially Norway[50]Lysefjorden
Flood meadow or floodplain meadow A seasonally flooded area of treeless grassland.[51] NoYesYesNo the Mottey Meadows[52]
Gulf A large extension of sea or ocean that stretches deep into the bordering landmass.[53] NoNoNoNo the Persian Gulf
Harbour A coastal body of water that is partially enclosed, naturally or artificially, and where ships can be safely left.[54] NoNoNoNo Wellington Harbour
Hot spring A naturally heated spring.[55] NoYesNoNo Sembawang Hot Spring Park
Inlet A narrow indentation into the coastline of a larger body of water.[56] NoNoNoNo Bute Inlet
Kettle lake A lake inside of a large rounded hole formed by glacial melt, a so-called kettle or pothole.[57][58][59] NoYesNoNo Kettle Mucubají
Kill A stream, creek, river, or channel.[60][61] VariesVariesNoNo the United States, in New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware.[61][b]the West Kill
Lagoon or laguna A shallow body of water that is partially or entirely separated from the sea by sandbanks, coral reef or similar features.[62][63][64][65] NoNoNoNo the Laguna Madre
Lake A large inland body of water.[66][67] NoYesNoNo Ganoga Lake
Liman A muddy lagoon.[68] NoNoNoNo the Black SeaTylihul Estuary
Loch or lough A lake, inlet, arm of the sea or a bay that is almost enclosed by land.[69][70] NoNoNoNo Scotland,[69] Ireland[70]Loch Ness
Mangrove forest or mangrove swamp Saline or brackish coastal waters with mangroves growing in them.[71] NoVariesNoYes the Tropics and the Subtropics[71]the Sundarbans[72][73]
Marsh A peat-forming wetland dominated by herbaceous plants.[74] NoYesNoYes Brandon Marsh
Mere A lake or pond.[75] NoYesNoNo Great Britain[75]Cop Mere
Mire or peatland A wetland where dead plant matter, known as peat, accumulates faster than it decays.[76][77] NoYesNoYes the Subarctic[78]
Moat A deep, wide channel, dug around a point of interest and filled with water in order to protect it from attack.[79] NoYesNoNo Matsumoto Castle[80]
Nullah A river or stream, often intermittent, in a ravine; an inlet; a drain.[81][82] YesYesYesNo India, Pakistan, Hong Kong[82]Buddha Nullah
Oasis An area in a desert where groundwater reaches the surface, creating a small fertile patch of land.[83] NoYesNoNo the Middle East and North AfricaKharga Oasis
Ocean One of the major bodies of salty water that together cover approximately 71% of the Earth's surface or all of them as one single body of water.[84] NoNoNoNo the Atlantic Ocean
Oxbow lake A body of water formed by a bend in a river that is bypassed by a cutoff being wholly separated from the river as a result of sediment deposition.[85][86] NoYesVariesNo the Kanwar Taal[87]
Pool A small body of water.[88] NoYesVariesNo
Pond A body of water, often artificial, that is smaller than a lake.[89] NoYesNoNo Brittas Pond
Puddle A small, shallow pool of water.[90] NoYesYesNo
Reach An open stretch of water.[91] VariesYesNoNo Hanford Reach
Reservoir A lake or pond, often artificially created by a dam or other impoundment, that is used as a water storage.[92] NoYesNoNo Abberton Reservoir
Ria An inlet formed by a rise in sea levels submerging a valley carved by a river.[93] NoNoNoNo China, Spain, especially in Galicia, Asturias, and the Basque Country China[93][94]Ria de Pontevedra
Rill or rivulet A very small watercourse.[95][96] YesYesVariesNo
River A large, natural stream of freshwater.[97] YesYesNoNo the Colorado River
Roadstead or roads A sheltered area of water near a shore that is less enclosed by land than a harbour and where ships may anchor.[98][99] NoNoNoNo Hampton Roads
Run A small stream, especially a swift one.[100] YesYesNoNo Scotch Run
Salt marsh A wetland near the coast that gets flooded and drained by the tides of a nearby body of saltwater.[101][102] NoYesNoYes the Rann of Kutch[103]
Sea A large body of water, usually saline and connected to the oceans.[104] NoNoNoNo the Adriatic Sea
Seep A small spring.[105] NoYesNoNo
Slough A wetland, often near an inlet or backwater.[106] NoYesNoYes the Columbia Slough
Sound A long inlet; a channel connecting two large bodies of water or separating an island from the mainland.[107] NoNoNoNo Nootka Sound
Spring A place where water emerges from the ground.[108] NoYesNoNo Eye of Kuruman[109]
Strait A narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.[110] NoNoNoNo Foveaux Strait
Stream A watercourse that is usually smaller than a river; a running body of water.[111] YesYesNoNo the Waiwhetū Stream
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.[112] NoYesNoNo Antarctica[112]Lake Vostok[113]
Subterranean river A river that runs underground. YesYesNoNo the Puerto Princesa Subterranean River
Swamp A wetland with many trees and shrubs.[114] NoYesNoYes Zapata Swamp
Tarn A mountain lake formed in a cirque.[115][116] NoYesNoNo Malham Tarn
Tidal creek[c] or tidal channel A long, narrow and shallow inlet or estuary whose water level is noticeably affected by the tides.[117] NoNoVaries[118]No Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek[119]
Tide pool A pool of seawater trapped in a rocky depression as the tide recedes from an area that is submerged at high tide.[120] NoNoNoNo the Flat Point Tide Pools
Tributary or affluent A watercourse that flows into a larger stream or river.[121] YesYesNoNo the Willamette River[122]
Vernal pool An ephemeral wetland that forms seasonally by precipitation filling natural depressions in level ground, that flood seasonally to form wetland environments.[123][124] NoYesYesYes the Phoenix Vernal Pools
Wadi A stream or river that only runs after heavy rain, usually only occurring during the rainy season.[125] YesYesYesNo North Africa and Arabia[125]Wadi Doan
Washland or washes A area that is periodically flooded by a nearby stream or river, especially one that is allowed to do so for flood management or water storage purposes.[126][127][128] NoYesNoVaries Ouse Washes[128]
Watercourse A running body of water.[129] YesYesVariesNo
Watering hole or waterhole A natural depression where animals can drink accumulated water.[130] NoYesVariesNo
Well A hole, usually man-made, with exposed groundwater at the bottom.[131] NoYesVariesNo the Etruscan Well
Wetland An area of land that is inundated by water.[132] NoYesNoYes the Bangweulu Wetlands
Winterbourne An ephemeral stream that mostly, or only, flows during winter.[133][134] YesYesYesNo Southern England[135]the River Lavant[136]
Port Jackson, Sydney, New South Wales
The Canal Grande in Venice, one of the major water-traffic corridors in the city. View from the Accademia bridge.
A tide pool in Santa Cruz, California with sea anemones and sea stars
A weir in Toledo, Spain. Weirs are frequently used to change the height of a riverlevel, prevent floodings, and measure water discharge.

See also

Notes

  1. The English word fjard is derived from the Swedish word fjärd, but in Swedish the word fjärd has a much broader meaning than that of the English word, being used to also describe open areas of archipelagic waters (like Hårsfjärden) and lake-like sections of rivers (like Fjärnebofjärden).
  2. Primarily in areas that used to be part of the New Netherlands colony, as the origin of the term is Dutch.[60]
  3. Often simply referred to as a "creek" in the British Isles.[36]

References

  1. "waterbody noun (pl. -ies) a body of water forming a physiographical feature, for example a sea or a reservoir." New Oxford Dictionary of English
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  3. "What causes high tide and low tide? Why are there two tides each day?". HowStuffWorks. 21 May 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  4. "European Environment Agency's home page – European Environment Agency". eea.europa.eu. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
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