A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water, usually covering the Earth or another planet. The term body of water most often refers to large accumulations of water, such as oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as ponds, puddles or wetlands. Rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water.
Some bodies of water are man-made (artificial), such as reservoirs or harbors, but most are naturally occurring geographical features. Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways. Some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans.
The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir of water held by a plant, technically known as a phytotelma.
Read more about Body Of Water: Types
Famous quotes containing the words body and/or water:
“I found my brother’s body at the bottom there, where they had thrown it away on the rocks, by the river. Like an old, dirty rag nobody wants. He was dead. And I felt I had killed him. I turned back to give myself up.... Because if a man’s life can be lived so long and come out this way, like rubbish, then something was horrible, and had to be ended one way or another. And I decided to help.”
—Abraham Polonsky (b. 1910)
“Ice is an interesting subject for contemplation. They told me that they had some in the ice-houses at Fresh Pond five years old which was as good as ever. Why is it that a bucket of water soon becomes putrid, but frozen remains sweet forever? It is commonly said that this is the difference between the affections and the intellect.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)