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Rivers are part of the water cycle, the continuous processes by which water moves about Earth. [3] This means that all water that flows in rivers must ultimately come from precipitation. [3] The sides of rivers have land that is at a higher elevation than the river itself, and in these areas, water flows downhill into the river. [4]
An additional 5.0 × 10 20 kg of water is estimated to exist in ice, lakes, rivers, groundwater, and atmospheric water vapor. [20] A significant amount of water is also stored in Earth's crust, mantle, and core.
A stone near Crissolo, Italy, inscribed: Here is born the Po. The United States Geological Survey (USGS) states that a river's "length may be considered to be the distance from the mouth to the most distant headwater source (irrespective of stream name), or from the mouth to the headwaters of the stream commonly known as the source stream".
Some rivers and streams may begin from lakes or ponds. Freshwater's primary sources are precipitation and mountain snowmelt. However, rivers typically originate in the highlands, and are slowly created by the erosion of mountain snowmelt into lakes or rivers.
The Ohio River at Cairo is 281,500 cu ft/s (7,960 m 3 /s); [1] and the Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois, which is upstream of the confluence, is 208,200 cu ft/s (5,897 m 3 /s). [66] The Ohio River flow is greater than that of the Mississippi River, so hydrologically the Ohio River is the main stream of the river system.
All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again" (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7). [33] Furthermore, it was also observed that when the clouds were full, they emptied rain on the earth (Ecclesiastes 11:3).
The river drops more than 2,480 feet (760 m) in elevation as it winds south to the border of Massachusetts where it sits 190 feet (58 m) above sea level. [37] [54] The region along the river upstream and downstream from Lebanon, New Hampshire, and White River Junction, Vermont, is known as the "Upper Valley".
The Amazon River is the largest river in the world in terms of its flow rate. In addition, it is the second longest river, measuring 6,575 km (4,086 mi) [3] from its source to the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean [4] after the Nile River which is considered to be the longest river in the world (see Source of the Nile River), although there is some dispute.