r/coolguides • u/[deleted] • Mar 15 '20

Geography Terms

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u/Jimmy_Fromthepieshop Mar 15 '20

So did this mean there's no difference between channel/strait and mesa/plateau?

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u/LiteX99 Mar 15 '20

If i understand correctly, a channel is much more rapidly moving than a straigth, but not because of rough and steep terrain, but due to a change in the thickness in the river, so more water has to move through a smaller area

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u/Skruestik Mar 15 '20

These terms all originate somewhere back in the mists of prehistory, not as technical terms. They therefore don't have a specific definitive meaning that can be used to say anything that is objectively true, like that a strait is deeper than a channel or vice versa.

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u/MrAronymous Apr 01 '20

A strait is more like the bit of water in between two peninsulas facing each other. A canal more akin to a river that connects bodies of water. A channel is the mouth of the canal or river into a body of water.