Ingeography, abank is the land alongside abody of water.
Different structures are referred to asbanks in different fields of geography.
Inlimnology, astream bank orriver bank is the terrain alongside thebed of ariver, creek, orstream.[1] The bank consists of the sides of thechannel, between which theflow is confined.[1] Stream banks are of particular interest influvial geography, which studies the processes associated with rivers and streams and thedeposits andlandforms created by them. Bankfull discharge is adischarge great enough to fill the channel and overtop the banks.[2]
The descriptive termsleft bank andright bank refer to the perspective of an observer lookingdownstream; a well-known example of this being the southernleft bank and the northernright bank of the riverSeine defining parts ofParis. Theshoreline ofponds,swamps,estuaries,reservoirs, orlakes are also of interest in limnology and are sometimes referred to as banks. Thegrade of all these banks or shorelines can vary from vertical to a shallow slope.
Infreshwater ecology, banks are of interest as the location of riparianhabitats.Riparian zones occur alongupland and lowland river and stream beds. The ecology around and depending on amarsh,swamp,slough, orestuary, sometimes called a bank, is likewise studied in freshwater ecology.
Banks are also of interest innavigation, where the term can refer either to abarrier island or a submergedplateau,[3] such as anocean bank. A barrier island is a long narrow island composed of sand and forming a barrier between an islandlagoon orsound 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 thecontinental shelf or near anisland.
