Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Bank (geography)
open-in-new
<p>In <a href="/facts/Geography/TRd1Toyo">geography</a>, a bank is the land alongside a <a href="/facts/Body_of_water/MoDAUuW4">body of water</a>. </p><p>Different structures are referred to as <i>banks</i> in different fields of geography. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Limnology/1nHcCAkn">limnology</a> (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongside the <a href="/facts/Stream_bed/9hcQPGaj">bed</a> of a <a href="/facts/River/GxdjEX21">river</a>, creek, or <a href="/facts/Stream/S5he7Cuo">stream</a>. The bank consists of the sides of the <a href="/facts/Channel_(geography)/zanMS2Ek">channel</a>, between which the <a href="/facts/Streamflow/Sj7gJdPg">flow</a> is confined. Stream banks are of particular interest in <a href="/facts/Fluvial/nkLrSheo">fluvial</a> geography, which studies the processes associated with rivers and streams and the <a href="/facts/Deposition_(geology)/qxjlY8KL">deposits</a> and <a href="/facts/Landform/eI0tkDYB">landforms</a> created by them. Bankfull discharge is a <a href="/facts/Discharge_(hydrology)/aFeFEHpC">discharge</a> great enough to fill the channel and overtop the banks. </p> <p>The descriptive terms <i>left bank</i> and <i>right bank</i> refer to the perspective of an observer looking <a href="/facts/Current_(stream)/xRdgYLdU">downstream</a>; a well-known example of this being the southern <a href="/facts/Rive_Gauche/41LYaIhn">left bank</a> and the northern <a href="/facts/Rive_Droite/6oNESnbH">right bank</a> of the river <a href="/facts/Seine/Chd1gSKo">Seine</a> defining parts of <a href="/facts/Paris/DrNHpwnA">Paris</a>. The <a href="/facts/Shore/yRlfT1Q6">shoreline</a> of <a href="/facts/Pond/He6abhfJ">ponds</a>, <a href="/facts/Swamp/rjE9QKpm">swamps</a>, <a href="/facts/Estuary/WmkSInmK">estuaries</a>, <a href="/facts/Reservoir/2FewszmR">reservoirs</a>, or <a href="/facts/Lake/YP0xxn0E">lakes</a> are also of interest in limnology and are sometimes referred to as banks. The <a href="/facts/Grade_(slope)/SlyxwANp">grade</a> of all these banks or shorelines can vary from vertical to a shallow slope. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Freshwater_ecosystem/G5xqs19j">freshwater ecology</a>, banks are of interest as the location of riparian <a href="/facts/Habitat/zo1DN2gA">habitats</a>. <a href="/facts/Riparian_zone/3NQHWM78">Riparian zones</a> occur along <a href="/facts/Upland_and_lowland/WFatkmW0">upland and lowland</a> river and stream beds. The ecology around and depending on a <a href="/facts/Marsh/AG0WLJ2K">marsh</a>, <a href="/facts/Swamp/rjE9QKpm">swamp</a>, <a href="/facts/Slough_(hydrology)/04LjTLIq">slough</a>, or <a href="/facts/Estuary/WmkSInmK">estuary</a>, sometimes called a bank, is likewise studied in freshwater ecology. </p><p>Banks are also of interest in <a href="/facts/Navigation/sGGAJ0AQ">navigation</a>, where the term can refer either to a <a href="/facts/Barrier_island/7tA4Qejz">barrier island</a> or a submerged <a href="/facts/Plateau/R9ugUKzQ">plateau</a>, such as an <a href="/facts/Ocean_bank/VyIrNc8x">ocean bank</a>. A barrier island is a long narrow island composed of sand and forming a barrier between an island <a href="/facts/Lagoon/IBp4ez2D">lagoon</a> or <a href="/facts/Sound_(geography)/RpgCgux7">sound</a> and the ocean. A submerged plateau is a relatively flat topped elevation of the sea floor at shallow depth — generally less than 200 metres (660 ft) — typically on the <a href="/facts/Continental_shelf/dpgHAR4U">continental shelf</a> or near an <a href="/facts/Island/46Apq1bJ">island</a>. </p>