Waterway

A floating market on one of Thailand's waterways

A waterway is any navigable body of water. A shipping route consists of one or several waterways. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:

• The waterway must be deep enough to allow the draft depth of the vessels using it;
• The waterway must be wide enough to allow passage for the beam width of the vessels using it;
• The waterway must be free of barriers to navigation such as waterfalls and rapids, or have a way around them (such as canal locks, boat lifts,etc.);
• The current of the waterway must be mild enough to allow vessels to make headway.

Vessels using waterways vary from small animal-drawn barges to immense ocean tankers and ocean liners, such as cruise ships.

See also

A European network of waterways.

• Air draft
• Blueway
• Great Lakes Waterway
• Inland waterways of the United States
• International waters
• List of countries by waterways length
• List of waterways
• NoorderSoft Waterways Database
• Saint Lawrence Seaway
• Salish Sea
• Strait of Magellan
• World Rivers Day

References

External links

Media related to Waterways at Wikimedia Commons

• Waterscape - Britain's official guide to canals, rivers and lakes