Ford (crossing)

Ford
Rawney Ford on the Bothrigg Burn, a tributary of the White Lyne in Cumbria, England
Rawney Ford on the Bothrigg Burn, a tributary of the White Lyne in Cumbria, England
CarriesTraffic
Span rangeShort
MaterialUsually none (natural, preexisting), but sometimes supplemented with concrete or asphalt for vehicles.
MovableNo
Design effortNone or low
Falsework requiredNo
Crossing the Red River near Granite, Oklahoma in 1921
Crossing the Milkhouse ford through Rock Creek in 1960
A ford next to a bridge that can only support 1.5 tonnes in Aufseß, Germany

A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading, or inside a vehicle getting its wheels wet.[1] A ford may occur naturally or be constructed. Fords may be impassable during high water. A low-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 word ford is both a noun (describing the water crossing itself) and a verb (describing the act of crossing a ford).

  1. ^ Thompson, Della, ed. (1995). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Ninth ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-861320-6.