PIER

A pier is a raised walkway over water, supported by widely spread piles or pillars. The lighter structure of a pier allows tides and currents to flow almost unhindered, whereas the more solid foundations of a quay or the closely-spaced piles of a wharf can act as breakwaters, and are consequently more liable to silting. Piers can range in size and complexity from a simple lightweight wooden structure to major structures extended over a mile out to sea.

Piers are the same as docks, which would be found in lakes or on rivers, it is the standard terminology used. Such a pier may be open air, closed, or partly open, partly closed. Sometimes a pier has two decks.