A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. In the United that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas A delta is a landform that is created at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river. Over long periods of time, this deposition builds the. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary A tributary or affluent is a stream or river which flows into a main stem river. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea, ocean, or lake. Tributaries and the mainstem river serve to drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater by leading the water out into an ocean or some other large body of water. Distributaries usually occur as a stream nears a lake A lake is a terrain feature (or physical feature), a body of liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the bottom of basin (another type of landform or terrain feature; that is, it is not global) and moves slowly if it moves at all. Another definition is, a body of fresh or salt water of considerable size that is surrounded by land. On or the ocean An ocean (from Greek Ωκεανός, Okeanos ) is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface (~3.61 X 1014 m2) is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas, but they can occur inland as well, such as in an endorheic An endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans. Normally the water accruing in drainage basins flows out through surface rivers or by underground diffusion through permeable rock to the oceans. However, in an endorheic basin, rain (or other precipitation) basin, or when a tributary stream bifurcates as it nears its confluence with a larger stream. In some cases, a minor distributary can "steal" so much water from the main channel that it can become the main route.
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Related terms
Common terms to name individual river distributaries in English-speaking countries The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where English is an official language. Most of these countries, such as India, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada and the Philippines, use English as an official language but not the sole official language are arm and channel. They may refer to a distributary that won't rejoin the channel it has branched off (e.g., the North, Middle, and South Arms of the Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 km , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada. The river's volume at its mouth is 112 km³ (27 cu mi) each year (about 800,000 gal/s or 3550, or the West Channel of the Mackenzie River), or one that will (e.g. Annacis Channel and Annieville Channel of the Fraser River The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1,375 km , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada. The river's volume at its mouth is 112 km³ (27 cu mi) each year (about 800,000 gal/s or 3550, separated by Annacis Island).
In Australia, the term anabranch An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream. Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, the flow can diverge for a distance of several kilometres before rejoining the main channel is used to refer to a distributary that diverts from the main course of the river and rejoins it later. In North America North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean; South America lies to the southeast. North an anabranch is called a braided stream.
Examples of Distributaries
North America
In Louisiana The State of Louisiana (pronounced /luːˌiːziˈænə/ or /ˌluːziˈænə/ ( listen); French: État de Louisiane, [lwizjan] ( listen); Louisiana Creole: Léta de la Lwizyàn) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U, the Atchafalaya River The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi and Red rivers, approximately 170 miles long, in south central Louisiana in the United States. It is navigable and provides a significant industrial shipping channel for the state of Louisiana, as well as the cultural heart of the Cajun Country. The maintenance of the river as a navigable is an important distributary of the Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the largest river system in the United States and the largest of North America. About 2,320 miles long, the river originates at Lake Itasca, Minnesota and flows slowly southwards in sweeping meanders, terminating 95 river miles below New Orleans, Louisiana where it begins to flow to the Gulf of Mexico. Along with its major. Because the Atchafalaya takes a steeper route to the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is the eleventh largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and than the main channel, it has captured more and more of the Mississippi's flow over several decades, including capturing the Red River The Red River, or sometimes The Red River of the South, is a major tributary of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers located in the United States of America. The river gains its name from the red-clay farmland of its watershed. It is one of several rivers with that name. The Red River is the second largest river basin in the southern Great, which was formerly a tributary of the Mississippi. The Old River Control Structure The Old River Control Structure is an artifice built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the divergence of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in order to maintain the water distribution between the two, at 70% and 30%, respectively. This was done in response to the increasing amounts of water flowing from the Mississippi into the, a dam A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are often used in conjunction with dams to provide clean which regulates the outflow from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya, was completed in 1963 to prevent the Atchafalaya from capturing the main flow of the Mississippi and stranding the ports of Baton Rouge Baton Rouge (pronounced /ˌbætən ˈruːʒ/; French: Bâton-Rouge [bɑtɔ̃ ʀuʒ] ) is the capital and second-largest city of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and has an estimated population of 227,017. The metropolitan area, known as Greater Baton Rouge, has an estimated population of 774,327. The Baton Rouge-Pierre Part and New Orleans New Orleans (pronounced /nuː ˈɔrliənz/ or /nuː ɔrˈliːnz/, locally [nuː ˈɔrlənz] or [ˈnɔrlənz]; French: La Nouvelle-Orléans [la nuvɛl ɔʀleɑ̃] ) is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana.
An example of inland distributaries is the Teton River, a tributary of Henrys Fork in Idaho Idaho ( /ˈaɪdəhoʊ/ ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890 as the 43rd state, which splits into two distributary channels, the North Fork and South Fork, which join Henrys Fork miles apart.
North Two Ocean Creek splits into two distributaries, Pacific Creek and Atlantic Creek, which flow into the different oceans.
South America
The Casiquiare is an inland distributary of the upper Orinoco The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km, . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers 880,000 km², 76.3% in Venezuela with the rest in Colombia. The Orinoco and its tributaries are the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela and the llanos of Colombia. However, since river, which flows southward into the Rio Negro Rio Negro is the largest left tributary of the Amazon and the largest blackwater river in the world. It has its sources along the watershed between the Orinoco and the Amazon basins, and also connects with the Orinoco by way of the Casiquiare canal. In Colombia, where the sources are located, it is called the Guainía River. Its main affluent is and forms a unique natural canal Some canals are part of an existing waterway. This is usually where a river has been canalised: making it navigable by widening and deepening some parts , and providing locks with "cuts" around the weirs or other difficult sections. In France, these waterways are called lateral canals and in the UK they are generally called navigations, between the Orinoco and Amazon The Amazon River (Portuguese: Rio Amazonas; Spanish: Río Amazonas; pronounced /ˈæməzɒn/ ; /ˈæməzən/ (UK)) of South America is the largest river in the world by volumetric discharge, with a total river flow greater than the next ten largest rivers combined. The Amazon, which has the largest drainage basin in the world, accounts for river systems. It is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems.
Europe
- The IJssel River IJssel , sometimes called Gelderse IJssel ("Gelderland IJssel") to avoid confusion with its Hollandse IJssel namesake in the west of the Netherlands, is a branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. River IJssel flows from Westervoort, east of the city of Arnhem, until it discharges into the IJsselmeer (, the Waal River Waal is the main distributary branch of river Rhine flowing to the central Netherlands for about 80 km before joining the Meuse near Woudrichem to form the Boven Merwede. It is a major river which serves as the main waterway connecting the Rotterdam harbor and Germany. Nijmegen, Tiel, Zaltbommel and Gorinchem are towns of importance with and the Nederrijn Nederrijn is the name of the Dutch part of River Rhine from the confluence at the town of Angeren of the cut-off Rhine bend of Oude Rijn and the Pannerdens Kanaal (which was dug to form the new connection between the Waal and Nederrijn branches). The city of Arnhem lies on the right (north) bank of the river Nederrijn, just past the branching-off (Lower Rhine) are the three principal distributaries of the Rhine The Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at 1,320 km (820 mi), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 m3/s (71,000 cu ft/s).
- The Akhtuba River is a major distributary of the Volga The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, discharge, and watershed. It flows through central Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia. Out of the twenty largest cities of Russia, eleven, including its capital Moscow, are situated in the Volga's drainage basin. Some of the largest reservoirs in the world can.
- The Tärendö River in northern Sweden c. ^ Since July 1, 2009 Five other languages are officially recognized as minority languages. They are: is a real distributary, far from the mouth of the river. It begins at the Torne River The Torne River , is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. Approximately a half of the river's length is a part of the border between these two countries. It rises at Lake Torne (Swedish: Torneträsk) near the border with Norway and flows generally southeast for a distance of 522 km (324 miles) into the Gulf of Bothnia. It is the largest river and ends at the Kalix River The Kalix River is one of the four major rivers of Norrland, northern Sweden, that are untouched by water power constructions. It is 461 kilometres long, flowing up to the Kebnekajse mountain range in Kiruna Municipality. In the southeast it flows through Lappland; and to the south through Norrbotten County, discharging in the Gulf of Bothnia.
Asia
In central Asia Wakhan River is an inland distributary of the Amu River in Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South-Central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, or the Middle East. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast. Other notable distributaries are the Kollidam River, a distributary of the Kaveri River The Kaveri River , also spelled Cauvery in English, is one of the major rivers of India, which is considered sacred by Hindus. The origin of the river is traditionally placed at Talakaveri, Kodagu district in the Western Ghats in the state of Karnataka, flows generally south and east through Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and across the southern Deccan, and the Hoogli River, a distributary of the Ganges River The Ganges (pronounced /ˈɡændʒiːz/; Hindi: गंगा Gaṅgā, IPA: [ˈɡəŋɡaː] , as in most Indian languages) is one of the major rivers of the Indian subcontinent, flowing east through the Gangetic Plain of northern India into Bangladesh. The 2,510 km (1,560 mi) river rises in the western Himalayas in the Uttarakhand state of India,, both in India India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east, India has a coastline of 7,517. Also, the Munneru is the distributary of the Krishna River The Krishna River , is one of the longest rivers in central-southern India (about 1300 km in length).
Africa
- The Nile River The Nile is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world has two distributaries, the Rosetta and the Damietta Damietta, Damiata, or Domyat is a port and the capital of the governorate of Domyat, Egypt. It is located at the intersection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Nile, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) north of Cairo branches. According to Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian. Spending most of his spare time studying, writing or investigating natural and geographic phenomena in the field, he wrote an it had in ancient times seven distributaries (east to west):
- The Pelusiac
- The Tanitic
- The Mendesian
- The Phatnitic
- The Sebennytic
- The Bolbitine
- The Canopic
- The Okavango River ends in many distributaries in a large inland delta called the Okavango Delta The Okavango Delta , in Botswana, is the world's largest inland delta. It is formed where the Okavango River empties onto a swamp in an endorheic basin in the Kalahari Desert, where most of the water is lost to evaporation and transpiration instead of draining into the sea. Each year approximately 11 cubic kilometres of water irrigate the 15,000. It is an example of distributaries that do not flow into any other body of water.
See also
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Categories: Distributaries | Rivers
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2008-07-24 17:41:36
the barbel disappeared from the dutch rhine and its . distributary. branches as well. ever since then, governments along the rhine have taken water quality measures, and water quality has improved strongly. the number of fish species has . ...
