Dike

Dike, artificial embankment for controlling water flow. Made of rock, clay, or cement, dikes are shaped in the form of a mound high enough to prevent an overflow of water. Often they are equipped with gates in order to permit irrigation of farmland. Dikes are a common feature in the Dutch landscape, since most of the Netherlands is below sea level. The term originally referred to a trench dug into the earth as a defensive measure. As water naturally collects in such trenches, dike also came to mean a natural or artificial water channel.