Ford (crossing)
Carries | Traffic |
---|---|
Span range | Short |
Material | Usually none (natural, preexisting), but sometimes supplemented with concrete or asphalt for vehicles. |
Movable | No |
Design effort | None or low |
Falsework required | No |
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).
Description
A ford is a much cheaper form of river crossing than a
The
In
At places where the water is shallow enough, but the material on the riverbed will not support heavy vehicles, fords are sometimes improved by building a submerged
Fords were sometimes the only way to cross, such as at the Milkhouse at
Watersplash
A road running below the water level of a stream or river is often known as a "watersplash". It is a common name for a ford or stretch of wet road in some areas, and is sometimes also used to describe tidal crossings. They have become a common feature in rallying courses. Some enthusiasts seek out and drive through these water features, recording details (such as wave created, position, and access) on dedicated websites.[6]
There are many old fords known as watersplashes in the United Kingdom. Examples are at Brockenhurst in Hampshire, Wookey in Somerset, and Swinbrook in Oxfordshire. Some of these are being replaced by bridges as these are a more reliable form of crossing in adverse weather conditions.
Some very spectacular watersplashes can be found in diverse locations.
In Israel and part of the British areas under the mandate a low water crossing or watersplash had been known as the "Irish bridge"[7] in reference to the Anglo–Irish war.[8][9]
Placenames
The names of many towns and villages are derived from the word 'ford'. Examples include
Towns such as
Famous battles
In historic times, positioning an army in large units close to a river was thought best for direct defense as well as to attack the enemy at any crossing point.[10] Therefore, a ford was often a strategic military point with many famous battles fought at or near fords:
- Battle of Xiaoyao Ford, 215–217, during the wars at the end of the Han dynasty in China
- Battle of Fulford, 1066, on the Ouse River during Harald Hardrada's invasion of England
- Battle of Jacob's Ford, 1179, on the Jordan River during the period between the Second and Third Crusade
- Battle of Imjin River, 1592, on the Imjin River during the Japanese invasion of Korea
- Battle of the Yellow Ford, 1598, on the Blackwater River during the Nine Years' War in Ireland
- Second Bishops' War in Scotland
- Battle of the Boyne, 1690, on the Boyne River during the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland
- Battle of Matson's Ford, 1777, on the Schuylkill River during the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War in Pennsylvania
- Battle of Brandywine, 1777, on Brandywine Creek during the Philadelphia campaign of the American Revolutionary War in Pennsylvania
- Battle of Minisink, 1779, on the Delaware River during the Northern theater of the American Revolutionary War in New York
- Battle of Cowan's Ford, 1781, on the Catawba River during the Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War in North Carolina
- Battle of Assaye, 1803, on the Kalina River during the Second Anglo-Maratha War in India
- Battle of Blackburn's Ford, 1861, on Bull Run Creek during the Manassas campaign of the American Civil War in Virginia
- Battle of Kelly's Ford, 1863, on the Rappahannock River during the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War in Virginia
- Battle of Buffington Island, 1863, on the Ohio River during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War in Ohio and West Virginia
- Battle of Chancellorsville, 1863, on the Rappahannock River during the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War in Virginia
- Battle of Byram's Ford, 1864, on the Blue River during Price's Missouri Expedition in the American Civil War in Missouri
- Battle of Morton's Ford, 1864, on the Rapidan River during the American Civil War in Virginia
- Battle of Rorke's Drift, 1879, on the Buffalo River during the Anglo-Zulu War in South Africa
- Battle of Cut Knife, 1885, on the North Saskatchewan River during the North-West Rebellion in Canada
- 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
In fiction
- Achilles Fights the River, Trojan War, as found in The Illiad, by Homer, Book 21, line 1
- The Defence of Duffer's Drift, 1900
- First and Second Battles of the Fords of Isen, (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)
- Battle of the Trident, (A Song of Ice and Fire, Game of Thrones)
Gallery
-
The Rye Water Ford in North Ayrshire, an unmodernised crossing of a minor river[11]
-
A ford in a 19th-century oil painting. In this instance, the ford may have artistic or symbolic significance.
-
The ford at Brockenhurst following heavy rain[13]
-
A ford, with pedestrian footbridge, on a minor road near Weimar bei Kassel in Germany
-
Fording an Indian river, c. 1905
-
Solomon's Ford inAvondale Heights, Victoria was modernized in the 1980s at a spot where indigenous people had been crossing the Maribyrnong Riverfor thousands of years.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-0-19-861320-6.
- ^ a b "Crossing A Ford: They're not always safe to cross – here's how to play it safe". theaa.com. 18 January 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ "End of the road for last traffic fords left on State Highway 1". Media statement. NZTA, Christchurch Regional Office. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
- ^ "Milkhouse Ford, Washington, District of Columbia, DC". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
- ^ Fidler, Eric (8 January 2015). "Hidden clues reveal an old road that disappeared from DC". Greater Greater Washington. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "An online guide to every UK ford, watersplash and tidal road". wetroads.co.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
- ^ The Be'er sheva ford was officially called Irish bridge
- ^ Yehuda Ziv - מורשת דרך- the sources of the "Irish bridges"
- ^ explanations about the source of the term Irish bridge
- ^ For example, in On War: von Clausewitz, Carl. "Defense of Rivers and Streams" (PDF). Retrieved 24 December 2020 – via University of Missouri-Rolla.
- ^ "Coming Through The Rye, Scottish Country Dance Instructions". Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Stanhope Ford's permanent closure approved". BBC News. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ Tehrani, Zoe (19 January 2020). "A guide to the circular Brockenhurst village walk". She walks in England. Retrieved 19 March 2021.