A newbie question

[thedeathstar]

I've heard wave and hole used interchangeably so many times that I always figured they were the same thing. I was just reading some reviews/opinions and I saw a comparison of two boats that said one was better for playing in waves, while the other was better for playing in holes. What is the difference between a wave and a hole? Pictures of both would maybe be helpful. Thanks.

[XXX-er]

a wave is started by the water flowing over a rock or ledge, you can float over it or most idealy at good levels surf it/do moves ... a good thing

when the flow goes low enough a hole is created around that feature which was creating the above mentioned wave and sometimes it will keep you ... a bad thing

there are smiling holes and frowning holes, if you look downstream at the hole and the edges are turned up or smiling you will flush to the ends and out

if you look at the hole and the edges are frowning they will move you to the center and keep you

[brannen]

a wave is in the water, a hole is what is in all of your river gear. . .. . .

[wcf3]

In the most extreme cases, waves and holes are clearly different water features. An example of a wave that is clearly 'not a hole' is any standing wave without any backwash (no whitewater at the crest where the wave is breaking). An example of a hole that is clearly 'not a wave' is what is found when water is dropping almost vertically over an obstruction and produces a large backwash as can be found at the base of a waterfall or a low head dam.

A feature can still be considered a wave even if the wave is breaking (producing a backwash/foam pile) but there will always need to be a clearly visible trough of green water and some green water on the 'face' of the downstream part of the feature.

There is a grey area where a feature might be considered a wave by some and a hole by others. (These are sometimes called 'wave-holes'). This is when there is a visible green water trough in the feature, but a large foam pile with little green water visible on the downstream face of the feature. Typically this type of feature is ideal for playboating and thus most artificially constructed play spots look like this.