navigable waters
Boatable bodies of liquid
Navigable waters are bodies of water deep and wide enough for boats or ships to travel through.
The term has legal significance—in U.S. law, navigable waters fall under federal jurisdiction for purposes of commerce, environmental regulation, and public access.
The river was declared navigable waters, bringing it under Army Corps of Engineers authority.
What counts as navigable varies by context and has been subject to ongoing legal dispute.
- recreational boatingWatercraft use for enjoyment
- boat launchRamp into water
- shipping lanesDesignated ocean travel paths
- shipping channelMarked route for vessels
- harbor entranceOpening to a port
canal · estuary · river · commercial shipping · maritime law · inland waterways · high seas · ocean · watercraft · strait · lock systems · tidal basin · trade routes · tributaries · boat · sea-lane · ferry · tidal
navigable watersshallows
Areas of little depth
shoals · sandbars · shallow waters · mudflats · tidal flats
water, navigate, navigator, navigation, navigating, navigable, circumnavigate, navigational, navigators