A Cape or Promontory, is that high part of land which shoots into the sea, and appears to terminate in a point, as the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, Cape Finistere in Spain, &c.
A Shore or Coast, is that land which borders upon the sea.
The Ocean, is that general collection of water which surrounds the whole earth. It is distinguished by the names of the four cardinal points of the world; viz. the northern or icy ocean, which environs the north pole; the western or Atlantic Ocean, which lies between Europe and America, extending to the Equator; the southern or Ethiopic Ocean, which extends from the Equator between Africa and America; and the Eastern or Indian Ocean, which washes the eastern coast of Africa, and the southern coast of Asia. To these have been added by later discoveries the Pacific Ocean, commonly called the Great South Sea, between America and Asia; and the Antarctic Icy Ocean which surrounds the South Pole.
A Sea, is a part of the Ocean, into which we must enter by some strait, and it is almost surrounded by land, as the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.
A Strait, is a narrow passage opening a way into some sea, as the Straits of Gibraltar, the Hellespont.
A Gulf is a part of an ocean or sea, which runs up considerably into the land, as the Gulf of Venice, the Gulf of Mexico, &c.
A Bay is a smaller kind of gulf, (and is frequently much smaller at the entrance than in the middle) as the Bay of Naples.
A Lake is a collection of water entirely surrounded by land, as the Lake of Geneva, and the Lake of Constance: when no stream flows in or out of it, it is called a pool.
A River is a current or stream, which rises in some elevated land, and flows into the sea, another river, or lake, as the River Thames, the Medway, and the River St. Lawrence.
A Creek, is a small part of the sea or of a river which runs but a little way into the land.