De Ferranti Glossary: "Fountain"

Glossary: F

Fountain
A traditional fountain is an arrangement where water issues from a source (Latin fons), fills a basin of some kind, and is drained away. Fountains may be wall fountains or free-standing. In fountains sheets of water may flow over varied surfaces of stone, concrete or metal. Basins may overflow from one into another, or the overflow may imitate a natural cascade. Many fountains are located in small, artificial ornamental ponds, basins and formal garden pools, and often they include sculpture.

One of the most common features of a fountain, if there is enough pressure, is a jet or multiple jets, where water is forced into the air under pressure to some height. A famous example of such a modern fountain rises from the surface of Lake Geneva.