distributary in "Else" and "Hase" at Melle

A seasonal distributary of the Kaveri river on the Kaveri delta, near Nannilam, India.

A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary. Distributaries usually occur as a stream nears a lake or the ocean, but they can occur inland as well, such as in an endorheic 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. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1134x847, 194 KB) Beschreibung: Bifurkation in Melle Lizenz: GNU-FDL Quelle: aufgenommen von Benutzer:Arminia, Ausschnitt erstellt von Benutzer:LeonWeber File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Distributary... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1134x847, 194 KB) Beschreibung: Bifurkation in Melle Lizenz: GNU-FDL Quelle: aufgenommen von Benutzer:Arminia, Ausschnitt erstellt von Benutzer:LeonWeber File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Distributary... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1544x1024, 824 KB) This is a picture of a riverbed of a Distributary of the Kaveri river on the Kaveri delta, near Nannilam, Tamil Nadu, taken by User:BostonMA in August 2003 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1544x1024, 824 KB) This is a picture of a riverbed of a Distributary of the Kaveri river on the Kaveri delta, near Nannilam, Tamil Nadu, taken by User:BostonMA in August 2003 File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Nannilam is a panchayat town in Thiruvarur District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Butchers Creek, Omeo, Victoria A stream, brook, beck, burn or creek, is a body of water with a detectable current, confined within a bed and banks. ... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ... Look up tributary in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The shores of Lake Hart, an endorheic desert lake in South Australia In geography, an endorheic basin—also called a terminal or closed basin—is a watershed from which there is no outflow of water, either on the surface as rivers, or underground by flow or diffusion through rock or...

Related terms

Common terms to name individual river distributaries in English-speaking countries 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, or the West Channel of the Mackenzie River), or one that will (e.g. Annacis Channel and Annieville Channel of the Fraser River, separated by Annacis Island). Fraser River watershed The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, Canada, rising near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1400 km (870 mi), into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Vancouver. ... Approximate extent of the Mackenzie River watershed The Mackenzie River (French: Fleuve Mackenzie) originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. ... Fraser River watershed The Fraser River is the longest river in British Columbia, Canada, rising near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for 1400 km (870 mi), into the Pacific Ocean at the city of Vancouver. ... Annacis Island is an island located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. ...

In Australia, the term anabranch is used to refer to a disributary that diverts from the main course of the river and rejoins it later. An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main course and rejoins later. ...

North America

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 the main channel, it has captured more and more of the Mississippi's flow over several decades, including capturing the Red River, which was formerly a tributary of the Mississippi. The Old River Control Structure, a dam 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 and New Orleans. Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city Baton Rouge [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi and Red rivers, approximately 170 mi (270 km) long, in south central Louisiana in the United States. ... The Mississippi River, derived from the old Ojibwe word misi-ziibi meaning great river (gichi-ziibi big river at its headwaters), is the second-longest named river in North America, with a length of 2320 miles (3733 km) from Lake Itasca to Gulf of Mexico. ... Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. ... The Red River is one of several rivers with that name, and of two rivers with that name in the United States. ... The Old River Control Structure was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the confluence of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers in order to maintain the water distribution between the two at 70% and 30% respectively. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Capitol Building Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana, a state of the United States of America. ... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ...

An example of inland distributaries is the Teton River, a tributary of Henrys Fork River in Idaho, which splits into two distributary channels, the North Fork and South Fork, which join Henrys Fork miles apart. The Teton River is a tributary of Henrys Fork of the Snake River, approximately 60 mi (97 km) long, in southeastern Idaho in the United States. ... The Henrys Fork River (also called the Henrys Fork of the Snake River) is a tributary of the Snake River, approximately 110 mi (177 km) long, in southeastern Idaho in the United States. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

South America

The Casiquiare is a distributary of the upper Orinoco, which flows southward into the Rio Negro and forms 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 Casiquiare is a distributary of the upper Orinoco, which flows southward into the Rio Negro. ... The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,410 km, (1,497. ... The Negro (Spanish: black) River, the great northern tributary of the Amazon River and the largest blackwater river in the world, 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. ... The Canal du Midi, Toulouse, France Canals are man-made channels for water. ... The Amazon River or River Amazon (Portuguese: ; Spanish: ) of South America is the largest river in the world by volume, with greater total river flow than the next eight largest rivers combined, and the largest drainage basin in the world. ...

Europe

• The IJssel, the Waal and the Nederrijn (Lower Rhine) are the three principal distributaries of the Rhine.
• The Akhtuba River is a major distributary of the Volga.
• The Tärendö River in northern Sweden is a real distributary, far from the mouth of the river. It begins at the Torne River and ends at the Kalix River.

Satellite image of the IJssel basin River IJssel, sometimes called Gelderse IJssel (Gelderland IJssel) to avoid confusion with its Holland counterpart, is a 120 km long branch of the Rhine in the Dutch provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel. ... Edited Satellite image of the Rhine-Waal fork, showing the beginning of river Waal (green). ... Categories: Netherlands geography stubs | Rivers of the Netherlands | Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta ... The River Rhine (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ; Italian: ; Romansh: ) is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe at 1,320 kilometres (820 miles), with an average discharge of more than 2,000 cubic meters per second. ... The Akhtuba River (Russian: ); also transliterated Achtuba on some maps) is a left distributary of the Volga River. ... For other meanings of the word Volga see Volga (disambiguation) Волга Length 3,690 km Elevation of the source 225 m Average discharge  ? m³/s Area watershed 1. ... The Tärendö River (Swedish: Tärendö älv, Meänkieli: Täränönväylä), is a small tributary river to the Kalix River in Norrbotten, Sweden. ... The Torne River (Finnish: Tornionjoki, Swedish: Torne älv, Torneälven, Northern Sami: Duortneseatnu, Meankieli: Tornionväyla), is a river on the border between Sweden and Finland. ... The Kalix River (in Swedish: proper Kalix älv or in everyday language Kalixälven, Northern Sami: Gáláseatnu, In Meänkieli the lower part of the river is called Kaihnuunväylä, while the upper part is called Kaalasväylä) is one of the four major rivers of Norrland, northern...

Asia

Other notable distributaries are the Kollidam River, a distributary of the Kaveri River, and the Hoogli River, a distributary of the Ganges River, both in India. The Kollidam (also Kolidam and sometimes Coleroon in English) is a river in southeastern India. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... The Hoogli River (alternatively spelled Hooghly) is a distributary of the Ganges River in India. ... This article is about the river. ...

Africa

The Okavango River ends in many distributaries in a large inland delta called the Okavango Delta. It is an example of distributaries that do not flow into any other body of water. The Okavango River is a river in southwest Africa. ... Elephants in the Okavango Delta seen from the dubious safety of a makoro (small boat). ...