Canal vs. River — What's the Difference?

Canals are waterway channels, or artificial waterways, for water conveyance, or for servicing water transport vehicles. They carry free surface flow under atmospheric pressure, and can be thought of as artificial rivers.

A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of water.

An artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation

A large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river

A tubular duct in a plant or animal, serving to convey or contain food, liquid, or air

Abbr. R. A large natural stream of water emptying into an ocean, lake, or other body of water and usually fed along its course by converging tributaries.

Any of a number of linear markings formerly reported as seen by telescope on the planet Mars.

A stream or abundant flow

An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.

The fifth and last of the community cards in various poker games, especially Texas hold'em.

(Anatomy) A tube, duct, or passageway.

To win a hand in poker by beating (someone) on the basis of the last community card that is turned up.

(Astronomy) One of the faint, hazy markings resembling straight lines on early telescopic images of the surface of Mars.

A large and often winding stream which drains a land mass, carrying water down from higher areas to a lower point, oftentimes ending in another body of water, such as an ocean or in an inland sea.

To dig an artificial waterway through

Any large flow of a liquid in a single body.

To provide with an artificial waterway or waterways.

(poker) The last card dealt in a hand.

An artificial waterway or artificially improved river used for travel, shipping, or irrigation.

(typography) A visually undesirable effect of white space running down a page, caused by spaces between words on consecutive lines happening to coincide.

(anatomy) A tubular channel within the body.

One who rives or splits.

(astronomy) One of the faint, hazy markings resembling straight lines on early telescopic images of the surface of Mars; see Martian canals

(poker) To improve one’s hand to beat another player on the final card in a poker game.

To dig an artificial waterway in or to (a place), especially for drainage

One who rives or splits.

To travel along a canal by boat

A large stream of water flowing in a bed or channel and emptying into the ocean, a sea, a lake, or another stream; a stream larger than a rivulet or brook.

An artificial channel filled with water and designed for navigation, or for irrigating land, etc.

Fig.: A large stream; copious flow; abundance; as, rivers of blood; rivers of oil.

A tube or duct; as, the alimentary canal; the semicircular canals of the ear.

To hawk by the side of a river; to fly hawks at river fowl.

A long and relatively narrow arm of the sea, approximately uniform in width; - used chiefly in proper names; as, Portland Canal; Lynn Canal.

A large natural stream of water (larger than a creek);

(astronomy) an indistinct surface feature of Mars once thought to be a system of channels; they are now believed to be an optical illusion

A bodily passage or tube lined with epithelial cells and conveying a secretion or other substance;

Long and narrow strip of water made for boats or for irrigation

Provide (a city) with a canal