Names for things that stick out into the water

[empirestate]

So I've been digitizing some coastline in my trusty GIS software, with the aid of the US Coast Pilot and some NOAA charts. And one thing that has come to my attention is this: there are an awful lot of different terms for manmade structures that jut or protrude into the water! Pier, wharf, jetty, breakwater, quay, mole, groin, and just plain ol' dock, for example.

What are some that I've missed? And what are the differences between them all?

[hbelkins]

So I've been digitizing some coastline in my trusty GIS software, with the aid of the US Coast Pilot and some NOAA charts. And one thing that has come to my attention is this: there are an awful lot of different terms for manmade structures that jut or protrude into the water! Pier, wharf, jetty, breakwater, quay, mole, groin, and just plain ol' dock, for example.

What are some that I've missed? And what are the differences between them all?

It's OK if a shark gets near your jetty or wharf, but you don't want it to get near your groin.

(Seriously? Groin? I've never heard that word used in this context before.)

[abefroman329]

I don't think a quay sticks out into the water, I think it's somewhere that boats can tie up that's located directly on land.  The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, for example, would be a quay.

[empirestate]

So I've been digitizing some coastline in my trusty GIS software, with the aid of the US Coast Pilot and some NOAA charts. And one thing that has come to my attention is this: there are an awful lot of different terms for manmade structures that jut or protrude into the water! Pier, wharf, jetty, breakwater, quay, mole, groin, and just plain ol' dock, for example.

What are some that I've missed? And what are the differences between them all?

It's OK if a shark gets near your jetty or wharf, but you don't want it to get near your groin.

(Seriously? Groin? I've never heard that word used in this context before.)

Or "groyne", by the British spelling. I hadn't heard it before either, but apparently it's a small jetty-like structure that encourages sand to collect, forming a beach.

I don't think a quay sticks out into the water, I think it's somewhere that boats can tie up that's located directly on land.  The Brooklyn Cruise Terminal, for example, would be a quay.

True, a quay doesn't project into the water (other than just incidentally as an effect of having modified the shoreline).  But there's some apparent confusion whether "quay" is merely the British-style synonym for "wharf", or whether it has a distinct meaning. For one thing, "wharf" is a commonly used term in its own right around the British Isles; for another, "wharf" appears to be a more all-encompassing term than "quay". (A wharf might contain one or more piers, warehouses, quays, etc.)

[Beltway]

Bulkheads and seawalls.  Artificial constructs on the shoreline that either protrude somewhat or at least are a major modification to the natural transition of land above water to land below water.

Causeways.  Earthen filled roadway embankments, a raised path or road crossing water, marshland, sand, etc.

[empirestate]

Bulkheads and seawalls.  Artificial constructs on the shoreline that either protrude somewhat or at least are a major modification to the natural transition of land above water to land below water.

What's the distinction between these two? Is seawall just a sub-type of bulkhead, or are there seawalls which are not bulkheads?

Also, "revetment" fits into this category.

[Beltway]

Bulkheads and seawalls.  Artificial constructs on the shoreline that either protrude somewhat or at least are a major modification to the natural transition of land above water to land below water.

What's the distinction between these two? Is seawall just a sub-type of bulkhead, or are there seawalls which are not bulkheads?
Also, "revetment" fits into this category.

Based on definitions, a bulkhead is a retaining wall along a waterfront.  A vertical structure built of reinforced concrete or sheet piles.

A seawall is more varied, "may be constructed from various materials, most commonly reinforced concrete, boulders, steel, or gabions.  Other possible construction materials are: vinyl, wood, aluminium, fibreglass composite, and large biodegrable sandbags".

Revetment is a facing as of stone or concrete to sustain an embankment.

[empirestate]

Bulkheads and seawalls.  Artificial constructs on the shoreline that either protrude somewhat or at least are a major modification to the natural transition of land above water to land below water.

What's the distinction between these two? Is seawall just a sub-type of bulkhead, or are there seawalls which are not bulkheads?
Also, "revetment" fits into this category.

Based on definitions, a bulkhead is a retaining wall along a waterfront.  A vertical structure built of reinforced concrete or sheet piles.

A seawall is more varied, "may be constructed from various materials, most commonly reinforced concrete, boulders, steel, or gabions.  Other possible construction materials are: vinyl, wood, aluminium, fibreglass composite, and large biodegrable sandbags".

Revetment is a facing as of stone or concrete to sustain an embankment.

And the embankment that it sustains may be a seawall.