All are names for rock depressions that collect water and help sustain both flora and fauna that struggle to survive in harsh environments. The distinction between a pothole and a tank can be a little murky and can also depend on regional vernacular, but tanks in general are larger and deeper than rock potholes, which are usually only a few inches deep and have diameters of no more than a few feet.
The deep, cold, water-filled depressions often found in slot canyons are often called potholes, but they are in size and character more like the formations widely known as tanks.
These tanks do not occur only in deserts, but this album focuses just on the wonders of desert tanks. Please feel free to attach any good images you have of desert tanks.
