Legal Definition and Related Resources of Navigable

watercourse or rivers or lakes which are used or are susceptible of being so used, in their ordinary condition , as highways for commerce , over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in customary modes of trade and travel on water . At common law , the term denotes waters which are subject to the ebb and flow of tides. See Donnelly v United States , 228 U.S. 243, 33 S.Ct. 449, 57 L.Ed. 820. But this narrow view is no longer applicable for in modern law, generally, if a body of water may be put to a public transportation and commercial use it is navigable. See City of Albany v state , 335 N. Y.S.2d 975. It is not necessary that a body of water be actually used in commerce to be navigable, but the test is rather its capability of commercial use. See Weiszmann v district Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, (C.A.FIa.) 526 F.2d 1302. The tendency appears to be to characterize waters used for recreational vessels also as navigable. See State ex rel. Brown v Newport Concrete Co., 44 Ohio App.2d 121, 336 N.E.2d453. In many jurisdictions, the word is defined by statute .

Capable of being navigated. In English law, only waters in which the tide flows are navigable in the technical sense. 5 Taunt. 705; Davies, 149. In American law, any water is navigable which is used as a means of useful commerce. 112 111. 611; 42 Minn. 532; 110 N. y. 380. The navigation need not b3 by boats. Wa,ters used for floating rafts or logs are public highways for that purpose. 31 Mich. 336; 58 N. H. 304; 72 N. Y. 21L The capacity for navigation need not be perennial. 42 Wis. 203; 17 Ore. 165. Nor need it be continuous through the entire length of the stream. 31 Me. 9. The Niagara river has been held navigable, notwithstanding the obstruction of the falls. 37 Hun. (N. Y.) 537. Those only are navigable waters where the public pass and repass upon them with vessels or boats in the prosecution of useful occupations. There must be some commerce or navigation which is essentially valuable. A hunter or fisherman, by drawing his boat through the waters of a brook or shallow creek, does not create navigation, or constitute their waters channels of commerce. 20 Conn. 217.

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Navigable in Historical Law

You might be interested in the historical meaning of this term. Browse or search for Navigable in Historical Law in the Encyclopedia of Law.

Search for legal acronyms and/or abbreviations containing Navigable in the Legal Abbreviations and Acronyms Dictionary.

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Channel, Derelict, Dereliction, Highway, Landing, Maritime Tort, Thoroughfare, Tonnage Duty.

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This definition of Navigable is based on the The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary . This entry needs to be proofread.

Vocabularies (Semantic Web Information)

Concept of Navigable in the context of Real Property

Alternatives definitions of Navigable: (1) Capable of carrying commercial shipping, or boats for travel. (2) Any waters put to a public use are “navigable” in some states, giving the word a legal meaning different from its normal meaning.

Concept of Navigable in the context of Real Property

Alternatives definitions of Navigable: (1) Capable of carrying commercial shipping, or boats for travel. (2) Any waters put to a public use are “navigable” in some states, giving the word a legal meaning different from its normal meaning.