The West Baray (Khmer: បារាយណ៍ខាងលិច, UNGEGN: Baréayôn Khang Lĭch, ALA-LC: Pārāyaṇ ̊ Khang Lic [ɓaraːj kʰaːŋ ləc]) or Baray Teuk Thla (Khmer: បារាយណ៍ទឹកថ្លា, UNGEGN: Baréayôn Tœ̆k Thla, ALA-LC: Pārāyaṇ ̊ Dẏk Thlā [ɓaraːj tək tʰlaː]; "Clear Water Reservoir") is a baray, or reservoir, at Angkor, Cambodia, oriented east–west and located just west of the walled city Angkor Thom.
And the western floor of the baray appears to have once been inhabited—archeological work has found wall bases, steps, and pottery shards there.
Early French experts believed the West Baray to have functioned as a vast holding tank for water that fed irrigation canals in dry times, allowing multiple crops of rice each year.
Many later studies, however, theorize that the baray had mainly symbolic functions, serving as a vast earthly depiction of the Hindu Sea of Creation, with the West Mebon temple at its center.
With clear, still waters, the baray today is a popular place for swimming and boat rides by local residents.