Floodgate

A floodgate is like a big door that you put in front of a river or canal. When there's a lot of rain or melted snow, the water in the river or canal can rise really high and flood the area around it. That's not good for houses, roads, or farms. So, people built floodgates to stop the water from coming into those places. It's like when you close your bedroom door to keep your annoying little brother out. The floodgate has to be really strong, because the water pushing against it can be very powerful. Sometimes, people have to manually close the floodgate with a big wheel, and other times, it can be done automatically. But no matter how it's done, the floodgate's job is to keep us safe from floodwaters.