80. Differences between bodies of water

29 Sep, 2023

Earth is composed of ~71% water. No wonder it's one of the most abundant natural resources in the world.

Here's a definition list of bodies of water that I think people (this is made for me) should know:

body of water: any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth
freshwater: contains less than 0.05% salt, or less than 1% salt by some definitions; comes from rain, snow melt, or ice melt.
brackish: contains less than 3% salt; When freshwater and saltwater meets, it is called a brackish water. This often occurs in the mouths of river (i.e opening to the sea).
saltwater: more than 3% salt; most common form of saltwater is seawater, which is found in oceans and seas.

ocean: largest body of water on Earth the covers almost 2/3 of its surface; a vast body of salt water that surrounds a continent
sea: a body of salt water, partly or completely surrounded by land, and often connected to the ocean (people often use ocean and sea interchangeably, but I think that sea is the part of an ocean that's closest to the land)
gulf: a very large ocean inlet; a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on 3 sides that contains salt water
bay: a body of water partially enclosed by land that contains salt water; smaller than gulfs- found in coastal regions along the ocean, but large lakes, such as the Great Lakes in the US and Canada, can also have bays.
tide pools: a rocky pool adjacent to an ocean and filled with seawater.

estuary: a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea; usually contains saltwater mixing with freshwater
inlet: a generic term for any connection between two larger bodies of water. It is usually used to refer to a narrow entrance to a sheltered area.
river: a large, flowing body of water that empties into a sea or an ocean.
strait: a generic term used to describe any naturally-formed narrow body of water that forms a connection between two other bigger bodies of water
channel: A channel is a body of water that connects two larger bodies of water, technically can be called a strait

stream: a body of water with a detectable current, confined within a bed and banks.

delta: the point where a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, or reservoir.
tributary: a stream or river that flows into the main stem (or parent) river or a lake

lagoon: any body of water that is naturally separated from a larger body of water by a barrier; usually brackish/freshwater
lake: a body of water, usually freshwater, of relatively large size contained on a body of land.
pond: a small body of still freshwater; most people would agree that a pond is smaller than a lake
reservoir: a place to store water for various uses, especially drinking water, which can be a natural or artificial

marsh: a wetland featuring grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants (possibly with low-growing woody plants) in a context of shallow water.
swamp: a wetland that features permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water

~ shark boy and lava girl stan,

<3 K