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Photo of a river

Types of waterways

Different words used to describe the places that water can travel through or collect in.

Photo of a pond
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Pis forPond

A pond is a small body of water, smaller than a lake but bigger than a puddle. Ponds are often man-made and are put into gardens as a decorative feature.
Photo of a dog in a wading pool
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Pis forPool

A pool is a small, still body of water. The dog in the picture is in a wading pool. Larger pools that are big enough to swim in are called swimming pools.

Pis forPuddle

Puddles are small pools of water on the ground. Puddles are left in small dents in the ground after it rains, or when water has been spilled on the ground.
Photo of a river
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Ris forRiver

A river is a moving stream of water that flows downhill to a lake or the sea. Very small rivers are called creeks or streams. Rivers can be very wide and deep, often big enough for large boat to sail on them.

Sis forSea

The sea, or the ocean, covers most of the world. The sea is a very large amount of salty water, home to many fish. People go sailing on the sea in boats.
Photo of Messina Straits
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Sis forStrait

A strait is a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two large areas of water.
Photo of a stream
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Sis forStream

A stream is a kind of small river. Another word for stream is a creek.
Photo of a swimming pool
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A swimming pool is a place that people have made just for swimming in. They are usually made out of a hole dug in the ground, lined with concrete and tiled. Some swimming pools are above ground, or are inflatable so you have to pump them up with air before you fill them with water. Swimming pools usually have very clear, pale blue water.
A waterfall happens when a creek or river flows over a cliff. Waterfalls can be tiny, only a few inches high, or they can be many hundreds of metres high. Waterfalls form when a river flows over rocks that are different hardness. The river will erode the softer rock faster than the harder rock, and over a long time a waterfall gradually appears.