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The epheremal nature of Granite Plateau Creek on the Mawson Plateau, means the creek is usually a series of waterholes.

Staircase Falls in Yosemite National Park only flows after heavy rainfall.

Home Reef has repeatedly breached the surface and been subsequently eroded by wave action.

Ephemeral things are transitory, existing only briefly. Typically the term is used to describe objects found in nature, although it can describe a wide range of things.

An ephemeral waterbody is a wetland, spring, stream, river, pond or lake that only exists for a short period following precipitation or snowmelt. They are not the same as intermittent or seasonal waterbodies, which exist for longer periods, but not all year round.

Examples of ephemeral streams are the Ugab River in Southern Africa, and a number of small ephemeral watercourses that drain Talak in northern Niger. Other notable ephemeral rivers include the Todd River and Sandover River in Central Australia as well as the Son River, Batha River and the Trabancos River.

Lake Carnegie in Western Australia and Lake Cowal in New South Wales are ephemeral lakes. Lake Tuzkan and Mystic Lake in California are ephemeral.

There are also ephemeral islands such as Banua Wuhu and Home Reef, which reappear and disappear beneath the waves.

Ephemeral can also be used as an adjective to refer to a fast deteriorating importance or temporary nature of an object to a person. Brands are notoriously ephemeral assets and magazine publishing was once more ephemeral.

A number of artforms can be considered epheremal because of their temporary nature. Early land art amd all sand sculptures, ice sculptures and chalk drawings on footpaths are examples of epheremal art. G. Augustine Lynas and Duthain Dealbh create epheremal sculture.

The placenta is considered an ephemeral organ present during gestation and pregnancy.

A sensation which is felt by a person for a certain period of time before needing replenishment can be referred to as ephemeral. Often, happiness is described as ephemeral, as one does not find it as a permanent state, with human lives always varying shades of happiness and disappointment. The Biblical phrase "This Too Shall Pass" succinctly expresses the ephemeral nature of all human sensations and existence.

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