hydrography

American  

[hahy-drog-ruh-fee] / haɪˈdrɒg rə fi /

noun

1. the science of the measurement, description, and mapping of the surface waters of the earth, with special reference to their use for navigation.

2. those parts of a map, collectively, that represent surface waters.

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hydrography British  

/ haɪˈdrɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. the study, surveying, and mapping of the oceans, seas, and rivers Compare hydrology

2. the oceans, seas, and rivers as represented on a chart

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hydrography Scientific  

/ hī-drŏg′rə-fē /

1. The scientific description and analysis of the physical characteristics of Earth's surface waters, including temperature, salinity, oxygen saturation, and the chemical content of water. Oceanography (the study of saltwater bodies) and limnology (the study of freshwater bodies) are subsets of hydrography.

2. The mapping of bodies of water.

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Other Word Forms

• hydrographer
  noun
• hydrographic
  adjective
• hydrographical
  adjective
• hydrographically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of hydrography

First recorded in 1550–60; hydro- ¹ + -graphy

Example Sentences

During the war, the Winder Building housed the Quartermaster General’s Department, the Navy Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, among others.

From Washington Post • Jun. 1, 2019

This rankled Commodore William Crane, chief of the Navy’s Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, the office nominally in charge of overseeing weaponry.

From Washington Post

Water data is from the National Hydrography Dataset.

From Washington Post

Hydrography, transportation, conservation and Indigenous data via TerraBrasilis.

From Washington Post

Accompanying it was a letter from the Secretary of the Navy directing me to report to the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography, in Washington, for such duty as it might assign me.

From The Reminiscences of an Astronomer by Newcomb, Simon