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BodyOfWater

BodyOfWater is a Landform subtype for any aquatic feature: a sea, ocean, lake, river, canal, pond, reservoir, or waterfall. It has 8 direct subtypes: Canal, LakeBodyOfWater, OceanBodyOfWater, Pond, Reservoir, RiverBodyOfWater, SeaBodyOfWater, and Waterfall. It adds no properties of its own.

For any body of water with a specific type, use the specific subtype (a river should be RiverBodyOfWater, a lake LakeBodyOfWater). Bare BodyOfWater is fine when the feature does not fit cleanly (a lagoon, a fjord, an estuary).

Full example of schema.org/BodyOfWater json-ld markup

The markup is verified as valid with Rich Results Test from Google.

Highlight legend:Required by GoogleRecommendedOptional
schema.org/BodyOfWater
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "RiverBodyOfWater",
  "name": "Lackawanna River",
  "description": "The Lackawanna River is a 42-mile tributary of the Susquehanna River running through Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Subject of an ongoing watershed restoration program.",
  "geo": {
    "@type": "GeoShape",
    "line": "41.6 -75.5 41.4 -75.6 41.3 -75.7"
  },
  "containedInPlace": { "@type": "AdministrativeArea", "name": "Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania" },
  "image": "https://xoocode.com/dunmore/lackawanna-river.jpg",
  "sameAs": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lackawanna_River"
}
</script>

Minimal valid version

The smallest markup that still produces a valid BodyOfWater entity. Use it as the floor. Reach for the advanced example above when you want search engines and AI agents to understand more about your content.

schema.org/BodyOfWater (minimal)
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "RiverBodyOfWater",
  "name": "Lackawanna River"
}
</script>

Google rich results this unlocks

Markup matching this example makes your page eligible for the following Google Search rich results. The primary target drives the required / recommended property classification in the advanced code block above.

  • No dedicated rich result (used by map and knowledge-graph indexers)
    Google docs

Common BodyOfWater mistakes

Mistakes that pass validation but silently fail to earn rich results or mislead consumers walking the graph. Avoid these and your markup will be ahead of most sites in the wild.

  1. 01

    Using point GeoCoordinates for a long river

    Wrong
    "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": ..., "longitude": ... } for a 42-mile river
    Right
    Use GeoShape with a line or polygon for long or area-based water bodies

    A point geo for a long river pins the whole river to one spot, which is misleading to mappers and AI summarisers. GeoShape.line is the right construct.

Schema properties in this example

BodyOfWaterRiverBodyOfWaterLandformPlacenamedescriptiongeoGeoShapelinecontainedInPlaceAdministrativeAreaimagesameAsLakeBodyOfWaterOceanBodyOfWaterSeaBodyOfWaterCanalPondReservoirWaterfall

About the example data

The Lackawanna River, the body of water running through the Scranton/Dunmore area and a longtime subject of local environmental advocacy.

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