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The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and is also the longest tributary river in the world with a length of 4,248 km (2,640 mi). The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of 31,200 m 3 /s (1.1 million cu ft/s).
Small tributary stream, Diamond Ridge, Alaska Creek in Perisher Ski Resort, Australia A stream's source depends on the surrounding landscape and its function within larger river networks. While perennial and intermittent streams are typically supplied by smaller upstream waters and groundwater, headwater and ephemeral streams often derive most ...
Each headwater is considered one of the river's sources, as it is the place where surface runoffs from rainwater, meltwater, or spring water begin accumulating into a more substantial and consistent flow that becomes a first-order tributary of that river. The tributary with the longest course downstream of the headwaters is regarded as the main ...
The Mississippi River drainage basin with the mainstem highlighted in dark blue. In hydrology, a main stem or mainstem (also known as a trunk) is "the primary downstream segment of a river, as contrasted to its tributaries".
The stream order or waterbody order is a positive whole number used in geomorphology and hydrology to indicate the level of branching in a river system.. There are various approaches [1] to the topological ordering of rivers or sections of rivers based on their distance from the source ("top down" [2]) or from the confluence (the point where two rivers merge) or river mouth ("bottom up" [3 ...
A diagram of a possible river with the Strahler number of each tributary labeled. In hydrology, a stream order is a positive integer used to describe the level of river branching in a drainage basin. [18] Several systems of stream order exist, one of which is the Strahler number. In this system, the first tributaries of a river are 1st order ...
Common terms to name individual river distributaries in English-speaking countries are arm and channel.These terms may refer to a distributary that does not rejoin the channel from which it has branched (e.g., the North, Middle, and South Arms of the Fraser River, or the West Channel of the Mackenzie River), or to one that does (e.g. Annacis Channel and Annieville Channel of the Fraser River ...
A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river ; or where two streams meet to become the source of a river of a new name (such as the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers, forming the Ohio River); or where two separated channels of a river (forming a river island) rejoin at ...