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Listed here are terms related to water bodies such as lakes, rivers, and oceans.
Bank
Rivers have two sides – the right and left banks.
Bay
A wide opening or bend in the land into which water flows. See also Gulf.
Hanauma Bay, Hawaii.
Bed
The land over which a river or stream flows.
Dry river bed. The old river bed of the Allt a`Choire-rainich. The stream is now diverted 100m further up. Photo: David Maclennan.
Brook
Also known as a creek, a larger stream.
Devils Brook approaches Crawthorne near Dewlish in the United Kingdom. Photo: Chris Downer.
Gulf
A long and narrow opening in the land into which water flows. Related to Bay.
Island
A piece of land with water all around it.
Lake
A large indentation in the land where water forms. A large body of water surrounded by land.
Mouth
The place where a river flows into another body of water.
Peninsula
A piece of land with water on three sides. The word peninsula is derived from Latin and means almost an island. The narrow neck of land that joins a peninsula to the mainland is called an isthmus.
Baja Peninsula in Mexico. The narrow body of water is the gulf of California. Source: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC.
Pond
A small hollow in the land where water forms. Smaller than a lake, ponds are bodies of standing water that can either be natural or man-made.
Rapids
Places in a river where the water rushes rapidly down a steep slope. The water often appears foam caused by the turbulence of the water as it hits rocks and debris during its flow.
Crystal Rapid, as seen at low water flows in October 2012. NPS Photo by Kristen M. Caldon.
Rill
Small thread-like stream.
A rill at Holford Combe in Somerset, England, United Kingdom.
Shore
The land near a large body of water is called a shore.
Source
The location of the beginning of a river.
Spring
Water flowing out of the ground. From springs flow small streams called rills, brooks, or creeks.
Strait
A narrow strip of water joining two larger bodies of water.
Tributary
A small stream of water flowing into a larger one. Also called branches of a river.
Waterfall
The place in a river where the water falls over a ledge or edge. A cataract is a large and powerful waterfall.
Burney Falls, California.