This template is used on many pages and changes may be widely noticed. Test changes in the template's /sandbox or /testcases subpages, or in your own user subpage. Consider discussing changes on the talk page before implementing them.
This template adds an automatically generated short description. If the automatic short description is not optimal, replace it by adding {{Short description}} at the top of the article.
This template can be used to add comparative, at-a-glance material to articles on lakes, oceans, bays, and similar water bodies. If there is a single article for the reservoir and the dam, then please use the integrated {{infobox dam}} template, instead of this template.
Text about the body of water's location. Note the town/state/region in which the body water is located. Names are listed in wikified form, without flags. Add the country only if the body of water is located in several countries or if there are several basin countries, but only one country in which the body of water is located.
group
Group of lakes that this body of water belongs to (e.g., Lake Erie is part of the Great Lakes)
coordinates
Latitude and Longitude coordinates of the body of water. It is common to use the approximate center of the body of water, or simply any notable portion of the body of water, for the coordinates. Coordinates are generally displayed in the infobox and on the top corner of the articles. For more, see WP:GEO and WP:Obtaining geographic coordinates Sample coordinates: {{coord|47|01|10|N|8|24|04|E|type:waterbody_region:CH|display =inline,title}} If missing, the article is placed in Category:Articles using infobox body of water without coordinates
type
type of body of water / type of lake. If it's a reservoir, add "[[reservoir]]". For typologies of lakes, see Wikipedia_talk:WikiProject_Lakes/Archive_1#Lake_types and Lake#Types of lakes Samples values with wikimarkup (only one or a few may apply): [[periglacial]], [[subglacial lake]], [[artificial lake]] [[reservoir (water)|reservoir]], [[endorheic]], [[meromictic]], [[oxbow lake]], [[rift lake]], [[underground lake]], [[crater lake]], [[intermittent lake]], [[:Category:Former lakes|former lake]], [[:Category:Shrunken lakes|shrunken lake]]; [[oligotrophic]], [[mesotropic]], [[eutrophic lake]], [[hypertrophic]]
part_of
name of any parent basin or hydrology system
etymology
person, event or other entity the body is named after
inflow
major inflow sources — rivers, aquifers, glacial runoff, etc. Use italics for any terms that are not place names, e.g. none
outflow
outflow waterway names. If evaporation or seepage are notable outflows, they may be included. Use italics for any terms that are not place names, e.g. evaporation
catchment
the area of catchment (in square kilometres) which includes the entire area of the drainage basin for that body of water. This may include rivers and other bodies of water. If this can be accompanied with a map or drawing, include it with the article. Sample value: {{convert|2124|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
basin_countries
which countries have drainage to/from or border the body of water. To conform a standard, this should include all countries that are directly involved with the body of water's ecology; this would include inflows, outflows, or physically contact the body of water. Countries are listed in unwikified form, without flags. For Antarctica, use "(Antarctica)".
agency
managing or owning organisation
designation
protected status as a nature reserve, etc.
date-built
date construction the body of water/reservoir started, if man-made.
date-flooded
date the body of water/reservoir was first flooded, if man-made or otherwise recent.
length
maximum length of the body of water in km, statute mile, and/or nautical miles; the length of the body of water at its longest dimension. Sample value: {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}}
width
maximum width of the body of water in km, statute mile, and/or nautical miles; perpendicular to the angle used to calculate length. Sample value: {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on}}
min_width
minimum width of the strait in km, statute mile, and/or nautical miles; perpendicular to the angle used to calculate length. Note: do not use this parameter for lakes, bays, or other bodies of water.
area
total area of the body of water's surface in square kilometres, square miles, acres, or hectares; if this value varies drastically (due to evaporation or changes in flow), attempt to find a documented average value. Sample conversion for imperial units: {{convert|1234|acre|abbr=on}} this renders as: 1,234 acres (499 ha)
depth
Average depth of the body of water in metres, fathoms, and/or feet Sample conversion for imperial units: {{convert|123|ft|abbr=on}} this renders as: 123 ft (37 m)
max-depth
Maximum depth of the body of water in metres, fathoms, and/or feet. Sample value: 10 m (33 ft)
volume
total volume of the body of water (cubic metres, cubic kilometres, cubic miles [cu mi], and/or acre-feet) Sample value: 11.8 km³ To convert acre-feet, use {{convert|1234567|acre.ft|abbr=on}} this renders as 1,234,567 acre⋅ft (1.522816×109 m3)
residence_time
residence time of the body of water or lake retention time (generally in years). This is the mean time water spends in the body of water.
shore
length of the shoreline in kilometres and statute miles; this should not include values for waterways directly connected to the body of water, and should reflect the shore at average surface area. Sample value: {{convert|75|km|mi|abbr=on}}
elevation
elevation above sea-level in meters; again, if this value varies due to variable inflow or outflow, attempt to use a documented average value. If at all possible, state the date at which the elevation was measured. Sample value: {{convert|150|m|ft|abbr=on}}
islands
total number of islands in the body of water; it is common practice to also include the names of any notable islands in the body of water.
notable cities or settlements on or near the shore of the body of water.
frozen
Information about freezing: e.g. usual freezing date, months the body of water is frozen, last years the body of water was frozen, never, etc.
reference
references for some or all of the values. Rather than including full references in any of the previous fields, <ref name ="multiple"> and </ref> should be used in this field and cross-referenced in the other fields with <ref name ="multiple"/>. See Help:Footnotes on how to use the tags.
align
"align =left" allows to align the infobox left (default is right). This avoids collision with another infobox.
Imperial units should be converted to metric units, preferably using {{convert}}, e.g. {{convert|1234|acre|abbr=on}} this renders as 1,234 acres (499 ha)
Tracking categories
There are several tracking categories for maintenance of articles using this infobox:
Alt text to display if the image specified by image does not display for whatever reason
String
optional
Image caption
caption
Caption for the image.
String
optional
Image Bathymetry
image_bathymetry
Bathymetry Image
Page name
optional
Alt Bathymetry
alt_bathymetry
Alternate text to display if image_bathymetry does not display for whatever reason
String
optional
Caption Bathymetry
caption_bathymetry
Image caption for image_bathymetry
String
optional
Location
location
Location of the Body of Water
String
optional
Group
group
Group of lakes that the body of water belongs to
String
optional
Coordinates
coordinatescoords
Latitude and Longitude coordinates of the body of water
Number
optional
Type
type
Type of the Body of Water
String
optional
Etymology
etymology
person, event, or other entity body is named after
String
optional
Part of
part_of
Name of any parent basin or hydrology system
String
optional
Inflow
inflow
Major inflow sources — rivers, aquifers, glacial runoff, etc.
String
optional
Outflow
outflow
Outflow Waterway Names e.g. evaporation
String
optional
Catchment
catchment
The area of catchment (in square kilometres) which includes the entire area of the drainage basin for that body of water.
String
optional
Basin Countries
basin_countries
Which countries have drainage to/from or border the body of water.
String
optional
Date Built
date-built
Date of construction of the body of water/reservoir started, if man-made.
Line
optional
Date Flooded
date-flooded
Date of the body of water/reservoir was first flooded, if man-made or otherwise recent.
Line
optional
Agency
agency
Managing or owning organisation
String
optional
Length
length
Maximum length of the body of water in km
Number
optional
Width
width
Maximum width of the body of water in km
Number
optional
Area
area
Total area of the body of water's surface in square kilometres
Number
optional
Depth
depth
Average depth of the body of water in metres, fathoms, and/or feet
Number
optional
Max Depth
max-depth
Maximum depth of the body of water in metres, fathoms, and/or feet.
Number
optional
Volume
volume
Total volume of the body of water (cubic metres, cubic kilometres, cubic miles [cu mi], and/or acre-feet)
Number
optional
Residence Time
residence_time
Time spent by water in the body of water.
Number
optional
Shore
shore
Length of the shoreline in kilometres and statute miles this should not include values for waterways directly connected to the body of water, and should reflect the shore at average surface area.
Number
optional
Elevation
elevation
Elevation above sea-level in meters.
Number
optional
Frozen
frozen
Information about freezing: e.g. usual freezing date, months the body of water is frozen, last years the body of water was frozen, never, etc.
String
optional
Islands
islands
Total number of islands in the body of water
Number
optional
Cities
cities
Notable cities or settlements on or near the shore of the body of water.
Number
optional
Reference
reference
references for some or all of the values.
String
optional
Microformat
The HTML mark up produced by this template includes an hCard microformat, which makes the place-name and location parsable by computers, either acting automatically to catalogue article across Wikipedia, or via a browser tool operated by a person, to (for example) add the subject to an address book. Within the hCard is a Geo microformat, which additionally makes the coordinates (latitude & longitude) parsable, so that they can be, say, looked up on a map, or downloaded to a GPS unit. For more information about the use of microformats on Wikipedia, please see the microformat project.