Beavers in some areas will dig canals connected to their ponds. The canals fill up with groundwater and increase accessibility of river resources, facilitate transport of acquired resources, and lessen the risk of predation. These canals can stretch up to wide, deep and over long. It has been hypothesized that beavers' canals are not only transportation routes but an extension of their "central place" around the lodge and/or food cache. Beavers create trails or "slides" as they drag wood, which then make it easier for the animals to transport new material.