Legal Definitions - watercourse

Definition: A watercourse is a body of water that flows in a defined channel with a bed and banks. It can be a natural or man-made body of water. This term includes not only rivers and creeks but also springs, lakes, and marshes through which flowing streams pass or originate.

Examples:

• The Mississippi River is a watercourse that flows through several states in the United States.
• The Amazon River is the largest watercourse in the world, flowing through South America.
• The Great Lakes in North America are also considered watercourses, as they are connected by a system of rivers and channels.

These examples illustrate how watercourses can be natural bodies of water, like the Mississippi and Amazon Rivers, or man-made bodies of water, like the Great Lakes. They all have a defined channel with a bed and banks, which is what makes them a watercourse.