watercourse
River or canal
A watercourse is a natural or artificial channel through which water flows—a river, stream, creek, or canal.
The term appears most often in legal, technical, or geographic contexts: The property boundary follows the watercourse.
It can also refer to the water flowing through such a channel, or to a dry bed that carries water seasonally.
Large flowing watercourse
- streamSteady continuous flow
- creekNarrow natural watercourse
- brookSmall flowing watercourse
- tributaryStream entering larger river
channel · spring · waterfall · rapids · estuary · delta · confluence · meander
Dug water passage
- aqueductChannel conveying water distances
- ditchShallow excavated channel
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- flumeConstructed water channel
sluice · culvert · raceway · millrace · levee · diversion · spillway · weir
Concave water receptacle
- catchmentArea collecting water runoff
- runoffExcess water drainage
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
- sewerageWastewater removal infrastructure
outflow · effluent · culvert · downspout · detention · retention · percolation · infiltration
river
Large flowing watercourse
tributary · channel · spring · waterfall · rapids · estuary · delta · confluence · meander · headwaters
canal
Dug water passage
- aqueductChannel conveying water distances
- ditchShallow excavated channel
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
flume · sluice · culvert · raceway · millrace · levee · diversion · spillway · weir · lock
basin
Concave water receptacle
- catchmentArea collecting water runoff
- runoffExcess water drainage
- stormwaterSurface flow from precipitation
sewerage · outflow · effluent · culvert · downspout · detention · retention · percolation · infiltration · subsurface
streamflow
River water's measured movement
cascade · freshet · spate · eddy · turbulence · velocity · volume · gradient · erosion · sedimentation
pond
Small still body
loch · tarn · reservoir · basin · backwater · oxbow · billabong · slough · wetland · marsh
- streamsstream, creek, brook, rivers, tributary
- waterwaysriver, rivers, canal, canals, stream
- river sciencehydrology, streamflow, flow rate, river basin, catchment
- ditchesdrainage ditch, irrigation ditch, roadside ditch, trench, furrow
- racetrackpit lane, starting line, starting gate, finish line, starting grid
- drainagedrain, drains, drainage ditch, drain pipe, floor drains