A part of a river where it is shallow enough to cross without a boat or a bridge.

This ancient crossing of the ford at Stanhope in County Durham, England, allowed travellers to cross the River Wear and reach the village. It is still well used by local people when the river level is low.

Fords are often found in straight stretches of rivers away from bends. These are the places where the river is widest and the bed of an even depth. At the bends the river is deep on the outside of the bend.