watercourses
Streams and rivers
Watercourses is the plural of watercourse—a natural or artificial channel through which water flows.
Rivers, streams, and canals are all watercourses.
The term appears often in legal and environmental contexts: The property extends to the watercourse on the eastern boundary.
Watercourses may be permanent or seasonal, flowing only after rainfall.
Large flowing watercourse
- streamSteady continuous flow
- brookSmall flowing watercourse
- creekNarrow natural watercourse
- canalDug water passage
channel · tributary · rivulet · rill · beck · burn · runnel · bourn
Capable of being traversed
- bargeFlat freight vessel
- ferryVessel for scheduled crossings
- towpathCanal-side walking route
- portageOverland boat hauling
channel · marker · buoy · dredged · lock · shallows · draft · upstream
Drainage area boundary
- basinConcave water receptacle
- catchmentArea collecting water runoff
- drainageLiquid removal system
- runoffExcess water drainage
aquifer · groundwater · sediment · siltation · flow · discharge · gauge · riparian
To travel without direction
- confluenceMeeting point of streams
- deltaSymbol denoting variation
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
oxbow · rapids · headwaters · mouth · source · bank · bed · gorge
river
Large flowing watercourse
canal · channel · tributary · rivulet · rill · beck · burn · runnel · bourn · streamlet
navigable
Capable of being traversed
portage · channel · marker · buoy · dredged · lock · shallows · draft · upstream · downstream
watershed
Drainage area boundary
runoff · aquifer · groundwater · sediment · siltation · flow · discharge · gauge · riparian · fluvial
meander
To travel without direction
- confluenceMeeting point of streams
- deltaSymbol denoting variation
- estuaryTidal mixing zone
floodplain · oxbow · rapids · headwaters · mouth · source · bank · bed · gorge · canyon
aqueduct
Channel conveying water distances
weir · flume · sluice · lock · culvert · spillway · diversion · embankment · dredging · channelization
- drainagedrain, drains, drainage ditch, drain pipe, floor drains
- topo mapscontour lines, contours, scale bar, benchmarks, topo maps
watercoursesstill water
Water not flowing
stagnant water · ponds · lakes · standing water · reservoirs
watercoursesdeserts
Abandons or barren lands
drylands · dry land · arid lands · wastelands · arid terrain