Aford is a shallow section of ariver orstream where it may be crossed by wading, on horseback, or inside a vehicle.[1] A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. Alow-water crossing is a low bridge that allows crossing over a river or stream when water is low but may be treated as a ford when the river is high and water covers the crossing.
The wordford is both anoun (describing the water crossing itself) and averb (describing the act of crossing a ford).
A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than abridge, and it can transport much more weight than a bridge, but it may become impassable after heavy rain or during flood conditions. A ford is therefore normally only suitable for very minor roads (and for paths intended for walkers and horse riders etc.). Most modern fords are usually shallow enough to be crossed bycars and other wheeled or tracked vehicles (a process known as "fording"). Fords may be accompanied bystepping stones for pedestrians.
TheUnited Kingdom has more than 2,000 fords, and most of them do not have any way of stopping vehicles from crossing when the water makes them impassable.[2] According toThe AA, many flood-related vehicle breakdowns are at fords.[2]
InNew Zealand, fords are a normal part of roads, including, until 2010, alongState Highway 1 on theSouth Island's east coast.[3] In dry weather, drivers become aware of a ford by crunching across outwash detritus on the roadway. ABailey bridge may be built off the mainline of the road to carry emergency traffic during high water.
At places where the water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submergedconcrete floor. In such cases, acurb (kerb) is often placed on the downstream side to prevent vehicles from slipping off, as the growth ofalgae will often make the slab very slippery. Fords may be also equipped with a post indicating the water depth, so that users may know if the water is too deep to attempt to cross. Some have an adjacent footbridge so that pedestrians may cross dryshod.
Fords were sometimes the only way to cross, such as at the Milkhouse atRock Creek in Washington, DC, but the regular use of this ford has been superseded by bridges.[4] The crossing remained for "adventurous" drivers until 1996 when theNational Park Service closed the ford to cars.[5]
A road running below the water level of a stream or river is often known as a "watersplash". It is a common name for a ford or stretch of wet road in some areas, and is sometimes also used to describe tidal crossings. They have become a common feature inrallying courses. Some enthusiasts seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites.[6]
There are many old fords known as watersplashes in theUnited Kingdom. Examples are atBrockenhurst inHampshire,Wookey inSomerset, andSwinbrook inOxfordshire. Some of these are being replaced by bridges as these are a more reliable form of crossing in adverse weather conditions.
Some very spectacular watersplashes can be found in diverse locations.Australia has theGulf Savannah, and others may be found inCanada,Italy,South Africa, andFinland. They are also found on someTennessee backroads, where they are referred to as "underwater bridges".
InIsrael and part of the British areas under themandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as the "Irish bridge"[7] in reference to theAnglo–Irish war.[8][9]
Towns such asMaastricht,Dordrecht, andUtrecht also formed at fords. The endingstricht,drecht, andtrecht are derived from theLatin wordtraiectum, meaning "crossing". Thus the name Utrecht, originally the Roman fort ofTraiectum, is derived from "Uut Trecht", meaning "downstream crossing". TheAfrikaans form was taken intoSouth African English asdrift and led to place names likeRorke's Drift andVelddrift. Similarly, inSlavic languages, the wordbrod comes from the linguistic root that means "river-crossing" or "place where a river can be crossed". Although todaybrod in theSerbo-Croatian means 'ship',Slavonski Brod in Croatia, as well asMakedonski Brod inNorth Macedonia and other place names containingBrod in Slavic countries, wherebrod is still the word for 'ford', are named after fords.
In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack the enemy at any crossing point.[10] Therefore, a ford was often a strategic military point with many famous battles fought at or near fords:
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![The Rye Water Ford in North Ayrshire, an unmodernised crossing of a minor river[11]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRye_Water_Ford%2c_Dalry.JPG)
![A ford in Stanhope, England, that has been closed[12]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aStanhope_Ford.jpg)
![The ford in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, following heavy rain[13]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBrockenhurst_Ford.jpg)
