User:LPfi/Bodies of water

Wikivoyage has articles on travel destinations and related topics, not on geographical features. Articles on bodies of water should be created only when a good travel guide can be written about them, as a region or destination article, itinerary or travel topic.

We prefer to have destination articles that fit our Wikivoyage:Geographical hierarchy. Articles on rivers and lakes that separate regions are awkward in this respect. Information that fit well in the region and city, park or rural area articles about bordering areas should go there, and if that includes the bulk of listings, there is little left for an ordinary destination article on the river or lake. Then, the body of water can be described as an extraregion article pointing to the destination articles, as a travel topic about getting around on the lake or river, or in itinerary articles on getting along the body of water in a certain way.

This guideline is not about regions or destinations on land named after a body of water. These often include some shoreline or even the complete river or lake, but there are such features in most regions, and whether a place is named after a lake makes little difference-

Regions

Sometimes a region is centred around a body of water, such as Lake Tahoe or Lake Garda, or is mainly an archipelago, such as the Archipelago Sea or Thousand Islands. If it fits the geographical hierarchy, a normal region article can be written. If the body of water dominates the region, due weight should be given in describing it, transport on it and attractions on it. The article is otherwise not much different than articles on places with less water surface.

Often there are administrative borders crossing the river or lake. Sometimes it makes sense to forget about those, such as when transport to one shore is mainly from the other shores, not from the adjacent land region. Sometimes this is true only for (some) islands of the lake. How to best divide the region is up to the good judgement of the community. This is not different from where a city sprawls out to a neighbouring state, or a desert or mountain range hampers transport.

If it is decided to break up the body of water into different regions but the body of water still is prominent and has features that one does not want to have to describe in several region articles, it may make sense to create a travel topic article on it, or an article on the extra-hierarchical region related to it-

Destination articles

When deciding what destinations to centre on in the lowest-level destination articles, we prefer writing about cities and the surrounding area, rural areas without major cities and large parks (such as national parks). We don't write an article on the lake Luirojärvi, although it is a common destination for hikers in Urho Kekkonen National Park, but rather on the park: people will still need to hike through the park to get there, and although you can sleep by its shore, there is not enough travel information on the lake itself to warrant a separate article.

Sometimes a lake, a stretch of river or an archipelago is different enough from the surroundings and prominent enough to have a lowest-level destination article of its own. This will often be a park or rural area article. Also consider whether it could be covered in an itinerary, which usually would be preferred if the towns and villages by the shores can be handled in another reasonable break-down. All or part of the river could also be covered in a travel topic.

Transportation

Information on how to travel on a body of water often fits nicely in the Get in and Get around sections of destinations where the ferries depart and arrive, such as ferries on the English Channel in United Kingdom#Get in or France#Get in. Ferries that travel along a significant part of the river probably have to be mentioned in several of them, with pointers to the main ports. This is seldom a big problem.

When the transportation system is complex, there is information relevant for many destinations, and the body of water is not significant enough for the enclosing region(s) to be described in detail there, a travel topic is warranted. An example would be Ferries in the Mediterranean. This may also be the case when the body of water attracts travellers going with their own craft, be it canoes or yachts, and information for such travellers would take too much space in the destination (or region) article. See Boating on the Baltic Sea for one such travel topic article. A similar article could be written for those travelling along the English Channel in a yacht.

Attractions

Some bodies of water are attractions — things to "See" or "Do" in a city or region, and they are formatted like any other attraction, contained within a destination article. For example, the Seine River in Paris, or Lake Merritt in Oakland.

Itineraries

Bodies of water can also define paths for an itinerary. For example, Along the Yangtze river describes the cities along China's greatest river and how to travel between them. The mode of transportation doesn't have to be land-based. Canoeing the San Marcos River gives tips for a three-day canoe journey through Texas Hill Country. Rideau Canal covers travelling from Ottawa to Kingston both in the canal by boat, or along it by car or bicycle.

Travel topics

Bodies of water can also be travel topics. Cruising the Baltic Sea gives an overview of cruising around that body of water on a cruise ship, Boating on the Baltic Sea is the equivalent for those with small craft. Diving in South Africa has extensive information regarding good diving spots along the coast of South Africa. See also the sections above for examples.

Redirects and disambiguation

Pages named after bodies of water might need to be redirected to point the traveler to the information they are likely to be seeking.

Where the information on the body of water is fully contained within a single destination guide, simply redirect the page to that article.

Where the information on the body of water is contained within several articles, or the body of water is large and not specific to a single region, create an extraregion page referencing the destination guides, travel topics and itineraries associated with it.