A distributary , or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a tributary , a stream that flows towards and into another stream or river. Distributaries are a result of river bifurcation and are often found where a river approaches a lake or an ocean and divides into distributary networks; as such they are a common feature of river deltas . They can also occur inland, on alluvial fans , or where a tributary stream bifurcates as it nears its confluence with a larger stream. In some cases, a minor distributary can divert so much water from the main channel that it can later become the main route.
25-760: The Jed Water is a river and a tributary of the River Teviot in the Borders region of Scotland . In total the Jed Water is over 21.75 miles (35.00 km) long and it falls 1,375 feet (0.419 km). It flows into the Teviot near Jedfoot Bridge ( grid reference NT660243 ) two miles north of Jedburgh . Jed Water rises from a source on Carlin Tooth 55°18′55″N 2°34′50″W / 55.31528°N 2.58056°W / 55.31528; -2.58056 ( Carlin Tooth ) in
50-630: A distributary that does not rejoin the channel from which it has branched (e.g., the North, Middle, and South Arms of the Fraser River , or the West Channel of the Mackenzie River ), or to one that does (e.g. Annacis Channel and Annieville Channel of the Fraser River , separated by Annacis Island ). In Australia, the term anabranch is used to refer to a distributary that diverts from the main course of
75-400: A new river, to be given its own name, perhaps one already known to the people who live upon its banks. Conversely, explorers approaching a new land from the sea encounter its rivers at their mouths, where they name them on their charts, then, following a river upstream, encounter each tributary as a forking of the stream to the right and to the left, which then appear on their charts as such; or
100-548: Is liable to flood, so the river levels are monitored near the old Canongate Bridge . The depth is usually between 0.37 metres (1.2 ft) and 2.33 metres (7.6 ft) metres deep but it has been as deep as 3.5 metres (11 ft) which it reached in January 2016. In 2020 there was a problem when the flood defences in Jedburgh were breached by debris in one storm just before another storm hit. Luckily repairs were made and serious flooding
125-668: The Balonne River in Queensland into Narran Lake in New South Wales . Many of Papua New Guinea's major rivers flow into the Gulf of Papua through marshy, low-lying country, allowing for wide, many-branched deltas. These include the Fly River , which splits into three major and several minor rivers close to its mouth. The Bamu River splits into several channels close to its mouth, among them
150-745: The Bebea , Bina , Dibiri , and Aramia . The Kikori River also splits into a multitude of channels as it crosses the plains close to the Gulf of Papua. The Purari River splits into three major channels as it approaches its mouth. New Zealand's second-longest river, the Clutha River , splits into two arms, the Matau and the Koua , some 10 kilometres from the South Island's Pacific Coast. A large island, Inch Clutha , lies between
175-542: The Cheviot Hills where it is first known as Raven Burn. The river in past times was the main source of water for the monks living in Jedburgh Abbey . It also powered a watermill in the town of Jedburgh although this no longer exists. It gives its name to Jedburgh and Jedforest . In the 1800s it had trout in the river. The Ordnance gazetteer said Jed Water "in the parts immediately above the town of Jedburgh ... more of
200-723: The North Arm and the South Arm , and a few smaller ones adjoining them. Examples of inland distributaries: The Casiquiare canal is an inland distributary of the upper Orinoco , which flows southward into the Rio Negro , forming a unique natural canal between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems. The Huai River in China splits into three streams. The main stream passes through
225-803: The Red River of the South . The Old River Control Structure , a dam which regulates the outflow from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya, was completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1963. The dam is intended to prevent the Atchafalaya from capturing the main flow of the Mississippi and stranding the ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans . In British Columbia , Canada, the Fraser River has numerous sloughs and side-channels which may be defined as distributaries. This river's final stretch has three main distributaries:
250-671: The Sanhe Sluice, goes out of the Sanhe river, and enters the Yangtze River through Baoying Lake and Gaoyou Lake . On the east bank of Hongze Lake , another stream goes out of Gaoliangjian Gate and enters the Yellow Sea at the port of Bidan through Subei Guan'gai Zongqu, the main irrigation channel of Northern Jiangsu ); its total length is 168 kilometers. The third stream leaves the Erhe lock on
275-519: The elements of fine landscape than during a whole day's ride in the most favourite Scottish haunts of tourists." The guide drew attention to the pure waters, the brisk currents, the steep landscapes and the contrasts which it thought picturesque. The name Jed is of obscure origin. James has suggested that it may derive from Proto-Indo-European *wei(h 1 )- d- "a bend, something curved or twisted". He also notes that Scots Gedde- in Jedburgh may have been adopted from Cumbric gwï:δ "a wood", and that
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#1732851910157300-556: The first-order tributary being typically the least in size. For example, a second-order tributary would be the result of two or more first-order tributaries combining to form the second-order tributary. Another method is to list tributaries from mouth to source, in the form of a tree structure , stored as a tree data structure . Distributary Common terms to name individual river distributaries in English-speaking countries are arm and channel . These terms may refer to
325-451: The handedness is from the point of view of an observer facing upstream. For instance, Steer Creek has a left tributary which is called Right Fork Steer Creek. These naming conventions are reflective of the circumstances of a particular river's identification and charting: people living along the banks of a river, with a name known to them, may then float down the river in exploration, and each tributary joining it as they pass by appears as
350-424: The joining of tributaries. The opposite to a tributary is a distributary , a river or stream that branches off from and flows away from the main stream. Distributaries are most often found in river deltas . Right tributary , or right-bank tributary , and left tributary , or left-bank tributary , describe the orientation of the tributary relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from
375-860: The northeast bank of Hongze Lake, passes the Huaishuhe River to the north of Lianyungang city, and flows into Haizhou Bay through the Hongkou. The Tha Chin River and Noi River are distributaries of the Chao Phraya River in Thailand , splitting off from the latter about 200 kilometers upstream from the Bay of Bangkok . The Brantas River in East Java , Indonesia , branches off into two distributaries, Mas River , also known as Surabaya River, and Porong River . A number of
400-462: The opposite bank before approaching the confluence. An early tributary is a tributary that joins the main stem river closer to its source than its mouth, that is, before the river's midpoint ; a late tributary joins the main stem further downstream, closer to its mouth than to its source, that is, after the midpoint. In the United States, where tributaries sometimes have the same name as
425-476: The perspective of looking downstream, that is, facing the direction the water current of the main stem is going. In a navigational context, if one were floating on a raft or other vessel in the main stream, this would be the side the tributary enters from as one floats past; alternately, if one were floating down the tributary, the main stream meets it on the opposite bank of the tributary. This information may be used to avoid turbulent water by moving towards
450-547: The river and rejoins it later. In North America such a branching river is called a braided river . In Louisiana , the Atchafalaya River is an important distributary of the Mississippi River . Because the Atchafalaya takes a steeper route to the Gulf of Mexico than does the Mississippi, over several decades the Atchafalaya has captured more and more of the Mississippi's flow, after the Mississippi meandered into
475-643: The river into which they feed, they are called forks . These are typically designated by compass direction. For example, the American River in California receives flow from its North, Middle, and South forks. The Chicago River 's North Branch has the East, West, and Middle Fork; the South Branch has its South Fork, and used to have a West Fork as well (now filled in). Forks are sometimes designated as right or left. Here,
500-415: The river name may be a back-formation . In 1787 James Hutton created modern geology when he discovered Hutton's Unconformity at Inchbonny, Jedburgh , in layers of sedimentary rock on the banks of the Jed Water. He later wrote of how he "rejoiced at my good fortune in stumbling upon an object so interesting in the natural history of the earth, and which I had been long looking for in vain". Jed Water
525-601: The rivers that flow inland from Australia's Great Dividing Range form distributaries, most of which flow only intermittently during times of high river levels and end in shallow lakes or simply peter out in the deserts. Yarriambiack Creek , which flows from the Wimmera River into Lake Coorong, and Tyrrell Creek, which flows from the Avoca River into Lake Tyrrell , are two distributaries in Victoria . The Narran River flows from
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#1732851910157550-418: The smaller stream designated the little fork, the larger either retaining its name unmodified, or receives the designation big . Tributaries are sometimes listed starting with those nearest to the source of the river and ending with those nearest to the mouth of the river . The Strahler stream order examines the arrangement of tributaries in a hierarchy of first, second, third and higher orders, with
575-432: The streams are seen to diverge by the cardinal direction (north, south, east, or west) in which they proceed upstream, sometimes a third stream entering between two others is designated the middle fork; or the streams are distinguished by the relative height of one to the other, as one stream descending over a cataract into another becomes the upper fork, and the one it descends into, the lower ; or by relative volume:
600-544: The surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater , leading the water out into an ocean. The Irtysh is a chief tributary of the Ob river and is also the longest tributary river in the world with a length of 4,248 km (2,640 mi). The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of 31,200 m /s (1.1 million cu ft/s). A confluence , where two or more bodies of water meet, usually refers to
625-419: Was avoided. 55°30′41″N 2°32′24″W / 55.51127°N 2.53992°W / 55.51127; -2.53992 Tributary A tributary , or an affluent , is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream ( main stem or "parent" ), river, or a lake . A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean . Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they flow, drain
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