The pier and dock tags seem to depict the same thing, and some images are tagged with both, like post #1104032. Do we want to alias these or make some sort of distinction?
Updated by Hillside Moose
Posted under General
The pier and dock tags seem to depict the same thing, and some images are tagged with both, like post #1104032. Do we want to alias these or make some sort of distinction?
Updated by Hillside Moose
I would call post #1104032 a jetty and a pier, but definitely not a dock.
Updated
Back to the main question, I'd say pier =/= dock.
NWF_Renim said:
Jetty - a structure extended into a sea, lake, or river to influence the current or tide or to protect a harbor.
Serlo said:
Huh, maybe there's some usage difference here. I'd definitely call this a jetty and you can clearly see it has nothing to do with current flow and is definitely there to tie ships to and get access to.
Both are valid.
But the former performs as wave breaker while the latter is the landing pier (this is widely referred as 'jetty' in tourism).
I'd agree that pier != dock.
Wave breaker wouldn't be a good description, since it is perpendicular to the coast and doesn't prevent waves from hitting the shore. It is a sediment catcher and a barrier that alters the longshore current, forcing the current that runs down the coast further out to sea, while catching material that is coming down the current. It's like a groyne, another coastal management structure, though the purpose of a groyne is beach sediment retention, while a jetty is to prevent sediment build up at the opening to rivers and harbors.
Is there not a better term that can be used instead of jetty? The images currently under jetty all seem like they'd fit just fine under only pier, and thus allowing us to leave the tag empty.