Glossary F

Farm pond
Small manmade body of water.

Fathom
Six feet of depth. Many nautical charts are marked in fathoms, not feet.

Fault
A fracture in the rocks along which there has been movement.

Fawn
A deer in the first year of its life.

Field archery
An archery round in which an archer shoots from a variety of distances at targets set up in natural country.

Fillet
A piece of fish with the bones removed, cut out for human consumption.

Firewhirl
A tornado-like rotating column of fire and smoke created by intense heat from a forest fire or volcanic eruption.

Fjord
A long, narrow sea inlet that is bordered by steep cliffs.

Flash Flood
A flash flood is a sudden and destructive rush of water down a narrow gully or over a sloping surface caused by heavy rainfall. Flash floods can reach their peak volume in a matter of a few minutes and often carry large loads of mud and rock fragments.

Flood
High water flow or an overflow of rivers or streams from their natural or artificial banks, inundating adjacent low lying areas.

Flood Plain
Level land that may be submerged by flood waters.

Flood Stage
The level of a river or stream where overflow onto surrounding areas can occur.

Flats
Very shallow water, where water is still and easy to wade, usually with a sand bottom.

Flemish string
A twisted string that consists of two separate bundles of string hand twisted together.

Fletch
To glue a feather or vane to an arrow shaft.

Fletcher
A person who makes arrows.

Fletching
The feathers, plastic vanes or other devices attached to the arrow shaft which stabilise the flight of the arrow.

Fletching jig
A device used to hold the arrow shaft in place and correctly locate and align the placement of the fletching.

Fluvial
Migrating between main rivers and tributaries. Of or pertaining to streams or rivers.

Fog Bank
A fairly well-defined mass of fog observed in the distance. Most commonly seen at sea, over a lake, or along coastal areas.

Forest
A large tract of land covered with trees and underbrush; extensive wooded area.

Fork
The place where a stream or tributary joins a river.

Freestone stream
A creek or river that gets most of its water flow from rainfall or snow/glacier melt. Freestone streams are most common in mountainous regions. The name freestone refers to the fact that typical freestone streams have a bottom of stones or gravel.

Freshwater
In a broad sense 'freshwater' is used for all continental aquatic systems such as rivers and lakes. In a technical sense it refers to water with less than 0.5 grams per liter of total dissolved mineral salts.

Frostbite
Skin that is damaged by exposure to freezing temperatures. (see more about frostbite)