Portal:Rivers

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Introduction

A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it runs out of water, or only flow during certain seasons. Rivers are regulated by the water cycle, the processes by which water moves around the Earth. Water first enters rivers through precipitation, whether from rainfall, the runoff of water down a slope, the melting of glaciers or snow, or seepage from aquifers beneath the surface of the Earth.

Rivers flow in channeled watercourses and merge in confluences to form drainage basins, areas where surface water eventually flows to a common outlet. Rivers have a great effect on the landscape around them. They may regularly overflow their banks and flood the surrounding area, spreading nutrients to the surrounding area. Sediment or alluvium carried by rivers shapes the landscape around it, forming deltas and islands where the flow slows down. Rivers rarely run in a straight line, instead, they bend or meander; the locations of a river's banks can change frequently. Rivers get their alluvium from erosion, which carves rock into canyons and valleys.

Rivers have sustained human and animal life for millennia, including the first human civilizations. The organisms that live around or in a river such as fish, aquatic plants, and insects have different roles, including processing organic matter and predation. Rivers have produced abundant resources for humans, including food, transportation, drinking water, and recreation. Humans have engineered rivers to prevent flooding, irrigate crops, perform work with water wheels, and produce hydroelectricity from dams. People associate rivers with life and fertility and have strong religious, political, social, and mythological attachments to them. (Full article...)

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The Colorado River at Horseshoe Bend, Arizona, a few miles below Glen Canyon Dam

The Colorado River (Spanish: Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The 1,450-mile-long (2,330 km) river, the 5th longest in the United States, drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states. The name Colorado derives from the Spanish language for "colored reddish" due to its heavy silt load. Starting in the central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it flows generally southwest across the Colorado Plateau and through the Grand Canyon before reaching Lake Mead on the Arizona–Nevada border, where it turns south toward the international border. After entering Mexico, the Colorado approaches the mostly dry Colorado River Delta at the tip of the Gulf of California between Baja California and Sonora.

Known for its dramatic canyons, whitewater rapids, and eleven U.S. National Parks, the Colorado River and its tributaries are a vital source of water for 40 million people. An extensive system of dams, reservoirs, and aqueducts divert almost its entire flow for agricultural irrigation and urban water supply. Its large flow and steep gradient are used to generate hydroelectricity, meeting peaking power demands in much of the Intermountain West. Intensive water consumption has dried up the lower 100 miles (160 km) of the river, which has rarely reached the sea since the 1960s. (Full article...)

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Dordogne in Perigord, south-western France, near Castelnaud-la-Chapelle

General images -

The following are images from various river-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Anthropogenic influences on river systems. Examples are mainly from settings with a modest technological influence, especially in the period of about 10,000 to 4000 cal yr BP. (from River ecosystem)
Image 2A whitewater canoe with yellow air bags. (from Whitewater)
Image 3Map of the world showing elevation levels (from Upland and lowland)
Image 4Periphyton (from River ecosystem)
Image 5A subterranean river in the Cross Cave system of Slovenia. (Scale shown by people in photograph.) (from Subterranean river)
Image 6Leaf litter is an allochthonous energy source. (from River ecosystem)
Image 7Co-occurrence network of a bacterial community in a stream (from River ecosystem)
Image 8Pondweed is an autochthonous energy source. (from River ecosystem)
Image 9Cascade in the Pyrénées (from River ecosystem)
Image 10Common water hyacinth in flower (from River ecosystem)
Image 11New Zealand longfin eels can weigh over 50 kilograms. (from River ecosystem)
Image 12Devil's Throat Cave subterranean river from above (from Subterranean river)
Image 13In Dante's Inferno, Charon ferries souls across the subterranean river Acheron. (from Subterranean river)
Image 14The brook trout is native to small streams, creeks, lakes, and spring ponds. (from River ecosystem)
Image 15A pensive Cooplacurripa River, NSW (from River ecosystem)
Image 16Different biofilm components in streams. Principal components are algae and bacteria. (from River ecosystem)
Image 17Rafting is a watersport where buoyancy aids, helmets and wetsuits are mandatory and often imposed by law, due to the constant risk of falling off the boat and into the rapids (from Whitewater)
Image 18Flowing rivers can act as dispersal vectors for plant matter and invertebrates. (from River ecosystem)
Image 19Whitewater at Yosemite (from Whitewater)
Image 20The Puerto Princesa cave can be entered by boat. (from Subterranean river)
Image 21The cave of source of the Buna can be entered by boat and dived through a cave system serving as an effluence of the Zalomka. (from Subterranean river)
Image 22A weir on the River Calder, West Yorkshire (from River ecosystem)
Image 23A forest stream in the winter near Erzhausen, Germany (from River ecosystem)
Image 24This stream operating together with its environment can be thought of as forming a river ecosystem. (from River ecosystem)
Image 25Rapids in Mount Robson Provincial Park (from River ecosystem)
Image 26Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park (from River ecosystem)
Image 27Example of a river food web. Bacteria can be seen in the red box at the bottom. Bacteria (and other decomposers, like worms) decompose and recycle nutrients back to the habitat, which is shown by the light blue arrows. Without bacteria, the rest of the food web would starve, because there would not be enough nutrients for the animals higher up in the food web. The dark orange arrows show how some animals consume others in the food web. For example, lobsters may be eaten by humans. The dark blue arrows represent one complete food chain, beginning with the consumption of algae by the water flea, Daphnia, which is consumed by a small fish, which is consumed by a larger fish, which is at the end consumed by the great blue heron. (from River ecosystem)
Image 28The Effra is one of the subterranean rivers of London. It empties into the Thames by Vauxhall Bridge, from which this photograph was taken. (from Subterranean river)

Did you know?

Kettle Creek

... that the Kettle Creek (pictured) watershed contains eight percent of the Class A Wild Trout Streams in Pennsylvania?
... that water from the Little Applegate River was used in the mine in Sterlingville, the largest hydraulic mine in Oregon and possibly the entire western United States?
... that there are at least 35 sources of acid mine drainage in the Mahanoy Creek watershed?

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The Indus River near Leh, Ladakh, India

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Rivers, streams and springs
Rivers (lists)	Alluvial river Braided river Blackwater river Channel Channel pattern Channel types Confluence Distributary Drainage basin Mountain river Subterranean river River bifurcation River ecosystem River source Tributary
Streams	Arroyo Beck Bourne Burn Chalk stream Coulee Current Stream bed Stream channel Streamflow Stream gradient Stream pool Perennial stream Winterbourne
Springs (list)	Estavelle/Inversac Geyser Holy well Hot spring list list in the US Karst spring list Mineral spring Ponor Rhythmic spring Spring horizon
Sedimentary processes and erosion	Abrasion Anabranch Aggradation Armor Bed load Bed material load Granular flow Debris flow Deposition Dissolved load Downcutting Erosion Headward erosion Knickpoint Palaeochannel Progradation Retrogradation Saltation Secondary flow Sediment transport Suspended load Wash load Water gap
Fluvial landforms	Ait Alluvial fan Antecedent drainage stream Avulsion Bank Bar Bayou Billabong Canyon Chine Cut bank Estuary Floating island Fluvial terrace Gill Gulch Gully Glen Meander scar Mouth bar Oxbow lake Riffle-pool sequence Point bar Ravine Rill River island Rock-cut basin Sedimentary basin Sedimentary structures Strath Thalweg River valley Wadi
Fluvial flow	Helicoidal flow International scale of river difficulty Log jam Meander Plunge pool Rapids Riffle Shoal Stream capture Waterfall list of waterfalls Whitewater
Surface runoff	Agricultural wastewater First flush Urban runoff
Floods and stormwater	100-year flood Crevasse splay Flash flood Flood Urban flooding Non-water flood Flood barrier Flood control Flood forecasting Flood-meadow Floodplain Flood pulse concept Flooded grasslands and savannas Inundation Storm Water Management Model Return period
Point source pollution	Effluent Industrial wastewater Sewage
River measurement and modelling	Baer's law Baseflow Bradshaw model Discharge (hydrology) Drainage density Exner equation Groundwater model Hack's law Hjulström curve Hydrograph Hydrological model Hydrological transport model Infiltration (hydrology) Main stem Playfair's law Relief ratio River Continuum Concept Rouse number Runoff curve number Runoff model (reservoir) Stream gauge Universal Soil Loss Equation WAFLEX Wetted perimeter Volumetric flow rate
River engineering	Aqueduct Balancing lake Canal Check dam Dam Drop structure Daylighting Detention basin Erosion control Fish ladder Floodplain restoration Flume Infiltration basin Leat Levee River morphology Retention basin Revetment Riparian-zone restoration Stream restoration Weir
River sports	Canyoning Fly fishing Rafting River surfing Riverboarding Stone skipping Triathlon Whitewater canoeing Whitewater kayaking Whitewater slalom
Related	Aquifer Aquatic toxicology Body of water Hydraulic civilization Limnology Riparian zone River valley civilization River cruise Sacred waters Surface water Wild river
Rivers by length Rivers by discharge rate Drainage basins Whitewater rivers Flash floods River name etymologies Countries without rivers

River morphology
Large-scale features	Alluvial plain Drainage basin Drainage system (geomorphology) Estuary Strahler number (stream order) River valley River delta River sinuosity
Alluvial rivers	Anabranch Avulsion (river) Bar (river morphology) Braided river Channel pattern Cut bank Floodplain Meander Meander cutoff Mouth bar Oxbow lake Point bar Riffle Rapids Riparian zone River bifurcation River channel migration River mouth Slip-off slope Stream pool Thalweg
Bedrock river	Canyon Knickpoint Plunge pool
Bedforms	Ait Antidune Dune Current ripple
Regional processes	Aggradation Base level Degradation (geology) Erosion and tectonics River rejuvenation
Mechanics	Deposition (geology) Water erosion Exner equation Hack's law Helicoidal flow Playfair's law Sediment transport List of rivers that have reversed direction
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