What is the difference between these forms of moving water? Improve this question. Justin Justin 1, 6 6 gold badges 20 20 silver badges 34 34 bronze badges. Here's a map showing the distribution of generic "stream" words in the U. These all show distinct geographic groupings. He also has creek and river , but they're spread all over. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Jay Elston Jay Elston 2, 14 14 silver badges 26 26 bronze badges.
The Dutch did not settle New England. Certainly nothing to say how big a streamlet can be before you call it a stream. And the river where I used to go fishing as a child is definitely a stream today, though I doubt the width, depth, and water flow rate have changed significantly.
Pennsylvania has the Schuylkill River. Department of Redundancy Department. BlueRaja -- kill is pretty common in the NY area. My first impression when I heard then names Catskill and Fishkill , I thought of dead cats and dead fish Run is common in some parts of the U.
I pointed these out because these words have common meanings not associated with running water. And who has not heard of the Saint Lawrence Seaway? And you left off slough which many people won't even know how to pronounce. Sense 3 from Merriam-Webster: a creek in a marsh or tide flat. I think this may be an exclusively American use. Show 5 more comments. Here's a fairly good explanation: The smallest body of water is the brook, a natural stream of water that is found aboveground and is often called a creek as well.
Here are the differences as laid out by the Maine Geological Survey : River - a natural freshwater surface stream of considerable volume and a permanent or seasonal flow. As to your second question, there's also: canal, channel, branch, crik, rivulet, streamlet, brooklet, runlet, runnel, rundle, rindle, beck, gill, burn, sike, freshet, fresh, millstream, race, tributary, feeder, confluent, effluent, billabong, flow, and course of course.
Community Bot 1. Callithumpian Callithumpian The waterways around Houston fit the definitions of creeks and bayous, which is why the terms are used interchangeably here. During dry spells, the channels around Houston can run very low and slow, more like a classic bayou. But when it rains, the bayous fill up quickly and start acting more like a classic creek or raging river, depending on the size of the rain event.
Do you have a burning H-Town-related question? Send it our way , and we will try to hunt down an answer. Meteorologist, runner, triathlete and proud Houstonian. Local News. Ask 2: Why are the bayous in Houston called bayous and not creeks?
Published: April 7, am Updated: April 7, pm. Bayou: 1. They can be freshwater, saltwater, or a combination of both. This combination is called " brackish water.
Bayous provide habitat for animals as diverse as shrimp, wading birds, and alligators. Bayou Bartholomew is the longest bayou in the world and is located in the U.
It is about kilometers miles long and contains more than different species of fish. Before railroad lines were constructed in the late s, Bayou Bartholomew was an important waterway for transportation. The bayou is still important to the city because it serves as a drainage basin for extra water during heavy rains. In this way, the bayou protects Houston from flood ing. Native American s have lived in Bayou Country for more than a thousand years. Many Choctaw people, for instance, are native to Bayou Country.
Choctaw people relied on the rivers and bayous of the Gulf Coast for shelter and food, such as fish, shrimp, and birds. They developed sophisticated watercraft to navigate between seasonal settlements. Wooded bayous also provided protection during times of conflict.
Today, many Native Americans retain close ties to Bayou Country. The United Houma Nation, native to southern Louisiana, has the crawfish as its official emblem, for instance. A group of Atakapa-Ishak people live in the "water village" of Grand Bayou. Most homes can only be reached by boat, and the community's most important economic interests are fishing and shrimping.
Bayou Country is also home to Cajun and Creole cultures. Cajun s trace their ancestors to French-speaking people from the southeastern part of Canada called Acadia. In the mids, Acadians were forced out of their homes as the British took control of the region.
Many Acadians migrated to the isolate d bayous of Louisiana. Here, they preserved elements of their culture. Today, more than a dozen parish es in southern Louisiana are part of "Acadiana. Like Cajun culture, Creole culture has its roots in migration and re-settlement. In the early s, "Creole" indicated a European person born in Louisiana, then a colony of France. Soon, Creole was used to describe a mixed-race person from the region —someone with European, Native American and African often slave ancestry.
In the s, Creoles achieved power and property rights rare for mixed-race people in the rest of the United States. Bayou Country's Creole culture is a rich collection of diverse influences. The music most associated with Creole culture is zydeco, a mixture of American jazz, Cajun folk, and African rhythms.
Food, such as gumbo, also has African, Native American, and European influences. Both Cajun and Creole cultures are defined by the waterways of Bayou Country. The bayous helped preserve and strengthen Cajun and Creole cultures by allowing the groups to interact with their family and maintain a sense of community.
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