Every experienced paddler or angler knows the lingo. We've compiled it here so that you will too! You'll encounter many of these terms on this site and also while you're out on the trail. Happily, there won't be a vocabulary test at the end, just some new knowledge to help you navigate your travels safely.
FUN FACT
The Susquehanna River provides drinking water for more than six million people.
B
Boat Ramp: Public launch ramp, available for power boats as well as canoes and kayaks (see also canoe launch).
Bony: How many paddlers describe rocky, scratchy conditions due to low water in a river or stream.
Bow: Front end of a boat. The stern is the back end.
Breaking Waves: When the top of a swell collapses down onto the upstream side of the wave. Also called a stopper.
Bridge: Be aware of the bases of these structures. They can create eddies, collect debris that can act like strainers, and cause the current to shift.
Broaching: When a boat is pushed sideways against a rock by a strong current, it can collapse and wrap around the obstacle. To avoid getting pinned, paddlers should throw their full weight downstream towards the rock to allow the current to slide harmlessly underneath the hull of the vessel.
C
Canoe Launch: Less developed public launch site, suitable for hand-launching canoes and kayaks (see also boat ramp).
CFS: Cubic Feet per Second. River flow is measured by the number of cubic feet of water flowing past a specific point each second. Both NOAA and USGS have river gauges across the country that are updated every 6-15 minutes, with graphs showing trends.
Class I: Fast-moving water with both riffles (see below) and small waves. Few obstructions, all obvious and easily avoided with little paddling experience or training.
Class II: Straightforward rapids with wide, clear channels, evident without scouting. While some maneuvering may be required, any rocks and medium-sized waves can be easily avoided by trained paddlers.
Closing Dams: More of a nuisance than a hazard, these dams extend from shoreline to shoreline, completely blocking a side channel.
Constructed Wave: When a narrowing channel constricts water flow, it moves more quickly. This compression can often cause waves to form.
Current: Describes the ever-present flow of the water, with volume, channel width, and gradient (see below) affecting the characteristics of a river. Current can range from quiet to violent. Usually slower along the inside bend of a river, it runs faster along the outside bend. Current is also swifter on the surface because there is less friction, compared to the river bottom.
D
Dams: A human-made structure, that requires a paddler to portage, or physically carry their boat out of the river and around the dam. Dams and dam-like structures, including ledges, spillways, and weirs, can be a variety of sizes, shapes, and materials, but all create a complete obstruction across a river. Powerful hydraulic activity occurs at the downstream base of these structures, making it extremely dangerous to go over a dam.
Drop: Anytime water drops straight down, like a waterfall.
E
Eddy: A back current along the side of the river. Eddies form when water rushes around obstacles, circulating downstream in a reverse direction. The current fills a void created by the flow of water, often creating a dangerous whirlpool. Eddies are a good place to pull off to the side, out of the main current, to rest or land. Be careful crossing into an eddy as your boat may momentarily become less steady.
Eddyline: The border between a circular eddy and the downward current flow.
Entrapment: Anything that can snag or hold a boat underwater. This happens when the force of water keeps the person and boat from swimming free. Or, when something like clothing or part of the boat becomes snagged on an obstruction, such as a branch or rock point.
F
Ferrying: Paddling maneuver to move across current. Ferrying is typically done to avoid an obstacle or eddyline. More advanced paddlers may “back ferry” to point the boat’s bow downstream. “Front ferrying” faces the bow upstream. Faster currents require a narrow ferrying angle while a broader angle works in slower water.
Flatwater: Section of the river with no current, typically due to impounded water behind a dam.
G
Gradient: Steepness of a riverbed, usually expressed as an average of feet/mile.
H
Hazard: Any obstruction that impacts the flow of a body of water, whether natural or human-made. These include currents, rip tides, rocks, reefs, narrowing channels, wind as well as any natural or human-made object, whether surface or submerged (tree trunk; broken dock). Wind, lightning, fog, and even the water itself can also be considered a hazard.
Hole: When water flows over a ledge or rock, creating a void that can trap objects in the circulating flow or hydraulics created.
Hydraulics: Water circulating on top of itself. Evident by churning water below a dam or spillway. Often occurs with other hazards, like holes and breaking waves.
I
Impoundment: A body of flatwater held behind a dam.
L
Lee: Describes being sheltered or away from the wind. Staying close to the lee shore, paddlers faceless wind and easier paddling.
P
Painter: Length of rope, also known as a line, that is tied to the bow or stern of the boat.
PFD: Personal Flotation Device or life jacket. Should be Coast Guard-approved.
Pillow: Water piling up against an obstruction that is not entirely submerged. Caused by current, water is compressed but continues to flow around it.
Portage: From the French, meaning “to carry.” Refers to carrying your boat out of the water, around an obstruction (like a dam), or back into the water. Can also describe the trail used to carry the boat.
Pour over: Water flowing vertically down a rock, ledge or manmade horizontal structure like a dam, spillway or weir to create a "hole" below the obstruction.
Q
Quickwater: Stretches of river with sufficient current to carry the boat and create ripples, while not steep or rough as rapids. Typically navigated by following the main current. Also known as Class I whitewater (see below).
R
Riffle: Rocky or shallow part of a stream or river with rough water.
Rapids: Water flowing over an obstruction, causing turbulence. Typically formed by boulders below the surface.
River Left/River Right: Refers to the river as you face downstream (“Watch for boulder, river left.”).
Rock Garden: River section with many partially submerged rocks or boulders. Typically describes swift current areas, requiring good paddling skills to avoid rocks.
S
Stern: End of a boat. The front is the bow.
Stopper: When the top of a swell collapses down onto the upstream side of the wave. Also called a breaking wave.
Strainer: Fallen tree, partially submerged in the current, where limbs and branches “strain” the water and prevent people and boats from passing through. Strainers can create strong currents that trap paddlers underwater and should be avoided.
Stump Fields: Pools created behind dams, when trees were cut before lowland flooding. Acres of stumps may lie submerged just below the surface throughout many of these pools.
Sweep: Experienced paddler at the end of a group. Sweeps ensure no one is left behind and is prepared to assist or rescue.
Sweeper: Branch hanging low over or into water that can “sweep” a paddler from the boat.
U
Undercuts/Potholes: Submerged hazards that don’t typically affect passage overhead but can trap capsized paddlers under the edge of a riverbank or rock ledge. Can also trap a victim against a rock or in debris that settles in a pothole.
USGS/United States Geological Survey: Government agency, together with the US Army Corps of Engineers, responsible for maintaining a network of river gauges that update water level and flow data online, every 15 minutes. Readings can help determine if river flow is too high or low for your skills and equipment.
W
WAKE: The series of waves created by a motorized watercraft. You should always paddle directly into the waves at 90 degrees. If your boat runs parallel to the wave, you could capsize.
WAVE TRAIN: Series of non-breaking waves.
WHITEWATER: Stretch of a river with enough flow and rocks to create breaking waves.
WING DAM: Small, dam-like structures that protrude from the riverbank to define the channel. Angled downstream at varied intervals.