Reach (geography)

Straight stretch of water

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. The specific issue is: only in the US would you define a reach between arbitrary features; normally they are set by the physics of sail You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (December 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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A reach is a segment of a stream, river, or arm of the sea,[citation needed] usually suggesting a straight, level, uninterrupted stretch.[1][2] They are traditionally defined by the capabilities of sailing boats, as a stretch of a watercourse which, because it is straightish, can be sailed in one "reach" (that is, without tacking).

Reaches are often named by those using the river, and a reach may be named for landmarks, natural features, and historical reasons (see, for instance, Gallions' Reach, named after the family that once owned its banks).

A reach may be an expanse, or widening, of a stream or river channel. This commonly occurs after the river or stream is dammed. A reach is similar to an arm, though an arm may bend and thus have multiple reaches. The term "reach" can also refer to a level stretch, as between river rapids or locks in a canal.[citation needed] The word may also be used more generally to refer to any extended portion or stretch of land or water, or even metaphorically.

In fluvial hydrology, a reach is a convenient subdivision of study; it may be any length of river of fairly uniform characteristics, or the length between gauging stations, or simply the length of a watercourse between any two defined points.[3][4] These may be measured in terms of river miles.

As of 2015, the US Board on Geographic Names records 334 place names in the US with the characterization of a named "reach".[5]

## Gallery

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* Example: Hanford Reach National Monument, Washington State, US. The last significant free-running (undammed) section of the Columbia River in the US

* A map of the reaches of the River Thames; it can be seen that a reach is a straightish stretch (and can therefore be sailed in one reach, one straight-line path between tacks, unless the wind is too close to head-on to allow the sailing-boat to reach)

* Thames barges reaching on the Thames during a race; they are probably on Gravesend Reach

## See also

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Look up reach in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* Meander
* Rapid
* Stream pool

## References

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1. ^ Macfarlane, Robert, "Landmarks", Hamish Hamilton Press, 2015
2. ^ Oxford English dictionary, reach, n., third meaning ("part of a river which can be looked upon at once between two bends")
3. ^ Hydrologic Definitions, Science in Your Watershed, USGS
4. ^ "Glossary: stream-related terms". Streamnet. 7 December 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-12-07.
5. ^ USGS Survey GNIS Database