river channels
Natural water passages
River channels are the natural pathways carved by flowing water through land—the physical courses rivers follow from source to mouth.
The term encompasses the riverbed, banks, and the space between them where water moves.
Channels can be straight, meandering, or braided depending on terrain and sediment.
Engineers also create artificial channels to redirect or control water flow: The Army Corps widened the river channel to prevent flooding.
- poolCollective fund or basin
- cutbankEroded riverbank cliff
- confluenceMeeting point of streams
- dredgingExtracting underwater sediment
- dischargeRelease of substance outward
floodplain · flow rate · water level · flood stage · riffle · meander · oxbow lake · sinuosity · tributary · avulsion · shifting sands · levee · sacred rivers · estuary · carved · pilgrimage sites · folklore · waterways
- river navigationlock gate, narrowboat, navigational aids, canal boat, navigation aids
- river wetlandsfloodplains, marshes, marshland, marshlands, riverbanks
- freshwater fishingfreshwater fishing, trout fishing, salmon fishing, freshwater fish, bass fishing
- landformsmountain, cliff, valley, volcano, mountain ridge
- riversMississippi, Amazon, rivers, Nile, streams
- wetlandsswamp, swamps, marsh, marshes, marshland
river channelslakes
Large inland water bodies
ponds · standing water · still water · reservoirs · stagnant water
river channelsaquifers
Water-bearing rock formations
groundwater · water table · artesian wells · underground lakes
river channelsopen ocean
Sea far from shore
open sea · high seas · sea · ocean basins