Waterway
 |
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
References
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (May 2016) |
External links
Media related to Waterways at Wikimedia Commons
Look up waterway in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Wikivoyage has travel information for Waterways.
| National | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
 | This article related to topography is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |