TERMINOLOGY 119 



Berth The place where a vessel lies when tied up or anchored. 



Bight A bend or curve; a bend in a coast forming an open bay; a 



small open bay formed by an indentation in the coast; a 



minor feature which aflords little protection for vesesls. 

 Blujff {A-2) A bold, steep headland or promontory. A high, steep bank or 



low cliff. 



Bog A small open marsh which yields under the foot. 



Bottom The bed of a body of still or running water. 



Bottom land Lowland formed by alluvial deposit along a stream or in a lake 



basin; a flood plain. 

 Boulder A more or less rounded rock, larger than a cobblestone and as 



much as 10 feet or more in diameter. 

 Branch A creek or brook, as used locally in Southern States. Also used 



to designate one of the bifurcations of a stream, as a fork. 

 Breakwater (G-6) A structure buUt in the water to break the force of the waves in 



order to provide shelter for vessels and to protect a harbor or 



anchorage. 

 Brook A stream of less length and volume than a creek, as used locally 



in the Northeast. Generally, one of the smallest branches or 



ultimate ramifications of a drainage system. 



Butte A lone hill, especially one with steep or precipitous sides. 



Canal (H-IS) A long, fairly straight natural channel with steep sloping sides. 



Any watercourse or channel. A sluggish coastal stream 



(local on Atlantic Coast). 

 Canyon A relatively narrow, deep depression with steep side slopes, 



the bottom of which grades continuously downward. 

 Cape A relatively extensive land area jutting seaward from a continent 



or large island, which prominently marks a change in, or 



interrupts notably, the coastal trend; a prominent feature. 

 Carse A low, fertile river bottom. (Scot, origin.) (See "bottom 



land.") 

 Cascade A fall of water over steeply sloping rocks, usually comparatively 



small or one of a series. 



Cataract A waterfall, usually larger than a cascade, over a precipice. 



Cavern A large, natural, underground cave or series of caves. Often 



but not always used to imply largeness or indefinite extent 



to distinguish from "cave." 

 Cay A key; a comparatively small and low coastal island of sand 



or coral. Pronounced "key". The spelling "kay" is 



common in the West Indies. 

 Ceja The cliff at a mesa edge ; an escarpment. Local in Southwest. 



(Sp.) 



Cerrito (or cerrillo) A small hill. Local in Southwest. 



Cerro HiU, highland; ridge. Local in Southwest. (Sp.) 



Channel The deepest portion of a stream, bay, or strait through which 



the main volume or current of water flows; the natural bed 



occupied by a stream of water. 

 Chasm A deep breach in the earth's surface ; an abyss ; a gorge ; a deep 



canyon. 



