The Guayas River also called Rio Guayas is a major river in western Ecuador . It gives name to Guayas Province and is the most important river in South America that does not flow into the Atlantic Ocean or any of its marginal seas. Its total length, including the Daule River , is 389 km (241 mi). The Guayas River's drainage basin is 34,500 km (13,320 sq.mi) and it has an average discharge of 70,000 cu ft/s (1,982 m3/s). It is the national river of Ecuador and is present on the coat of arms of Ecuador .
22-738: The Guayas River has one of its sources in the Andes Mountains and Chimborazo , Ecuador's highest volcano. The coat of arms of Ecuador shows an image of the river descending from the mountain. Guayas is the name of the lower part of the river, which starts at the confluence of the Daule River from the west and the Babahoyo River from the east, between the cities of Guayaquil and Durán , in Guayas Province. The Guayas River then flows around Santay Island , and becomes one current again. From
44-413: A river flows into a larger body of water , such as another river, a lake / reservoir , a bay / gulf , a sea , or an ocean . At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current, reducing the carrying capacity of the water. The water from a river can enter the receiving body in a variety of different ways. The motion of a river is influenced by the relative density of
66-560: A deficit at the river's mouth. As river mouths are the site of large-scale sediment deposition and allow for easy travel and ports, many towns and cities are founded there. Many places in the United Kingdom take their names from their positions at the mouths of rivers, such as Plymouth (i.e. mouth of the Plym River ), Sidmouth (i.e. mouth of the Sid River ), and Great Yarmouth (i.e. mouth of
88-683: A maze of islands, some of which have been transformed into slums. The Cobina Slough connects the Estero Salado with the river. The main course of the river is affected by tides, and forms a small group of islands; the most important of them is Mondragón. The river then meets the Gulf of Guayaquil , an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Its influence is noticeable in the Puná Island , and in the Jambelí Strait , in
110-411: 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 stem . 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
132-403: A variety of landforms , such as deltas , sand bars , spits , and tie channels. Landforms at the river mouth drastically alter the geomorphology and ecosystem. Along coasts, sand bars and similar landforms act as barriers, sheltering sensitive ecosystems that are enriched by nutrients deposited from the river. However, the damming of rivers can starve the river of sand and nutrients, creating
154-505: Is named by some USGS and other federal and state agency sources, following Lewis and Clark 's naming convention, as the confluence of the Madison and Jefferson rivers, rather than the source of its longest tributary (the Jefferson). This contradicts the most common definition, which is, according to a US Army Corps of Engineers official on a USGS site, that "[geographers] generally follow
176-459: The Mississippi River and Missouri River sources are officially defined as follows: The verb "rise" can be used to express the general region of a river's source, and is often qualified with an adverbial expression of place. For example: The word "source", when applied to lakes rather than rivers or streams, refers to the lake's inflow . River mouth A river mouth is where
198-461: The "uppermost" or most remote section of the marsh would be the true source. For example, the source of the River Tees is marshland . The furthest stream is also often called the head stream. Headwaters are often small streams with cool waters because of shade and recently melted ice or snow. They may also be glacial headwaters, waters formed by the melting of glacial ice . Headwater areas are
220-507: The Gulf of Guayaquil every year. National symbols of Ecuador Source (river or stream) The headwater of a river or stream is the point on each of its tributaries upstream from its mouth / estuary into a lake / sea or its confluence with another river. Each headwater is considered one of the river's sources , as it is the place where surface runoffs from rainwater , meltwater and/or spring water begin accumulating into
242-456: The confluence to the delta 60 kilometers away, it borders Guayaquil Canton and Durán Canton , and Guayaquil Canton and Naranjal Canton , just before the delta. The Guayas River forms a very complex delta. Its most important feature is the existence of a slough called Estero Salado , surrounded by swamps and affected by tides. The area between the Guayas River and the Estero Salado forms
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#1732837234888264-564: The furthest point from which water could possibly flow ephemerally . The latter definition includes sometimes-dry channels and removes any possible definitions that would have the river source "move around" from month to month depending on precipitation or ground water levels. This definition, from geographer Andrew Johnston of the Smithsonian Institution , is also used by the National Geographic Society when pinpointing
286-529: The headwaters of the stream commonly known as the source stream". As an example of the second definition above, the USGS at times considers the Missouri River as a tributary of the Mississippi River . But it also follows the first definition above (along with virtually all other geographic authorities and publications) in using the combined Missouri—lower Mississippi length figure in lists of lengths of rivers around
308-585: The longest tributary to identify the source of rivers and streams." In the case of the Missouri River, this would have the source be well upstream from Lewis and Clark's confluence, "following the Jefferson River to the Beaverhead River to Red Rock River , then Red Rock Creek to Hell Roaring Creek ." Sometimes the source of the most remote tributary may be in an area that is more marsh -like, in which
330-519: The province of El Oro . The Guayas River has the largest watershed in South America west of the Andes Mountains that flows into the Pacific Ocean. It has an area 34,500 km, in nine provinces: Los Ríos , Guayas , Bolívar , Manabí , Cañar , Pichincha , Azuay , Chimborazo and Cotopaxi . In collaboration with the Estero Salado, the river discharges 36 billion cubic meters of water into
352-406: The receiving water, as is typically the case when fresh river water flows into the sea, the river water will float along the surface of the receiving water as an overflow. Alongside these advective transports, inflowing water will also diffuse . At the mouth of a river, the change in flow conditions can cause the river to drop any sediment it is carrying. This sediment deposition can generate
374-457: The river compared to the receiving water, the rotation of the Earth, and any ambient motion in the receiving water, such as tides or seiches . If the river water has a higher density than the surface of the receiving water, the river water will plunge below the surface. The river water will then either form an underflow or an interflow within the lake. However, if the river water is lighter than
396-458: The source of rivers such as the Amazon or Nile . A definition given by the state of Montana agrees, stating that a river source is never a confluence but is "in a location that is the farthest, along water miles, from where that river ends." Under this definition, neither a lake (excepting lakes with no inflows) nor a confluence of tributaries can be a true river source, though both often provide
418-777: The source of the largest river flowing into the lake, the Kagera River . Likewise, the source of the Amazon River has been determined this way, even though the river changes names numerous times along its course. However, the source of the Thames in England is traditionally reckoned according to the named river Thames rather than its longer tributary, the Churn — although not without contention. When not listing river lengths, however, alternative definitions may be used. The Missouri River's source
440-515: The starting point for the portion of a river carrying a single name. For example, National Geographic and virtually every other geographic authority and atlas define the source of the Nile River not as Lake Victoria 's outlet where the name "Nile" first appears, which would reduce the Nile's length by over 900 km (560 mi) (dropping it to fourth or fifth on the list of world's rivers), but instead use
462-642: The upstream areas of a watershed , as opposed to the outflow or discharge of a watershed. The river source is often but not always on or quite near the edge of the watershed, or watershed divide. For example, the source of the Colorado River is at the Continental Divide separating the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean watersheds of North America . A river is considered a linear geographic feature, with only one mouth and one source. For an example,
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#1732837234888484-473: The world. Most rivers have numerous tributaries and change names often; it is customary to regard the longest tributary or stem as the source, regardless of what name that watercourse may carry on local maps and in local usage. This most commonly identified definition of a river source specifically uses the most distant point (along watercourses from the river mouth ) in the drainage basin from which water runs year-around ( perennially ), or, alternatively, as
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