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. Drainage divides keep rivers separated from other courses of water and causes upstream water within the confines of the divide to fall into the downhill stream. 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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Dam at Jordan River Narrows in 1901

The Jordan River is a 51.4-mile-long (82.7 km) river in the U.S. state of Utah. Regulated by pumps at its headwaters at Utah Lake, it flows northward through the Salt Lake Valley and empties into the Great Salt Lake. Four of Utah's six largest cities border the river: Salt Lake City, West Valley City, West Jordan, and Sandy. More than a million people live in the Jordan Subbasin, part of the Jordan River watershed that lies within Salt Lake and Utah counties. During the Pleistocene, the area was part of Lake Bonneville.

Members of the Desert Archaic Culture were the earliest known inhabitants of the region; an archaeological site found along the river dates back 3,000 years. Mormon pioneers led by Brigham Young were the first European American settlers, arriving in July 1847 and establishing farms and settlements along the river and its tributaries. The growing population, needing water for drinking, irrigation, and industrial use in an arid climate, dug ditches and canals, built dams, and installed pumps to create a highly regulated river. (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 1The 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 2In Dante's Inferno, Charon ferries souls across the subterranean river Acheron. (from Subterranean river)
Image 3New Zealand longfin eels can weigh over 50 kilograms. (from River ecosystem)
Image 4Rafting 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 5Example 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 6Castle Geyser, Yellowstone National Park (from River ecosystem)
Image 7Co-occurrence network of a bacterial community in a stream (from River ecosystem)
Image 8The 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)
Image 9Flowing rivers can act as dispersal vectors for plant matter and invertebrates. (from River ecosystem)
Image 10Periphyton (from River ecosystem)
Image 11The Puerto Princesa cave can be entered by boat. (from Subterranean river)
Image 12The brook trout is native to small streams, creeks, lakes, and spring ponds. (from River ecosystem)
Image 13A whitewater canoe with yellow air bags. (from Whitewater)
Image 14This stream operating together with its environment can be thought of as forming a river ecosystem. (from River ecosystem)
Image 15A weir on the River Calder, West Yorkshire (from River ecosystem)
Image 16Rapids in Mount Robson Provincial Park (from River ecosystem)
Image 17Cascade in the Pyrénées (from River ecosystem)
Image 18Leaf litter is an allochthonous energy source. (from River ecosystem)
Image 19Anthropogenic 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 20Pondweed is an autochthonous energy source. (from River ecosystem)
Image 21Whitewater at Yosemite (from Whitewater)
Image 22Devil's Throat Cave subterranean river from above (from Subterranean river)
Image 23Map of the world showing elevation levels (from Upland and lowland)
Image 24Different biofilm components in streams. Principal components are algae and bacteria. (from River ecosystem)
Image 25A subterranean river in the Cross Cave system of Slovenia. (Scale shown by people in photograph.) (from Subterranean river)
Image 26A forest stream in the winter near Erzhausen, Germany (from River ecosystem)
Image 27A pensive Cooplacurripa River, NSW (from River ecosystem)
Image 28Common water hyacinth in flower (from River ecosystem)

Did you know?

Maksimovsky rock in the Chusovaya River in Russia

... that a tributary of the Chusovaya River (pictured) naturally dives underground for about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi)?
... that the Cheddar Yeo forms the largest underground river system in Britain?
... that the "Mad Raft Race" is an event held on the Chilkoot River as part of Fourth of July festivities observed in Haines, Alaska?

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Mississippi River at Vicksburg, Mississippi

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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 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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