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TributaryWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Tributary
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Thisarticleisaboutalesserflowofwater.Forotheruses,seeTributary(disambiguation).
Atributary[1]oraffluent[2]isastreamorriverthatflowsintoalarger
streamorrivermainstem(orparent)riveroralake.[3]Atributarydoes
notflowdirectlyintoaseaorocean.Tributariesandthemainstem
riverservetodrainthesurroundingdrainagebasinofitssurfacewater
andgroundwater,leadingthewateroutintoanocean.
Aconfluence,wheretwoormorebodiesofwatermeettogether,
usuallyreferstothejoiningoftributaries.
Theoppositetoatributaryisadistributary,ariverorstreamthat
branchesofffromandflowsawayfromthemainstream.[4]
Distributariesaremostoftenfoundinriverdeltas.

Contents

BiaaLdecka,arighttributaryof
NysaKodzkainPoland,located
inthevillageofBieliceinLower
Silesia.

1Terminology
2Orderingandenumeration
3Seealso
4References
5Externallinks

Terminology

ThePfinz,arighttributaryofthe
Rhine,locatedinBaden
Wrttemberg.

"Righttributary"and"left
tributary"(or"rightbanktributary"
and"leftbanktributary")areterms
statingtheorientationofthe
tributaryrelativetotheflowofthe
mainstemriver.Thesetermsare
definedfromtheperspectiveof
lookingdownstream(inthe
directionthewatercurrentofthe
mainstemisgoing).

WaltonCreek,asmalltributaryof
theLochsaRiverinnortheastern
Idaho,flowingslightlyupstream
ofitsconfluencewithalarger
stream.

Wheretributarieshavethesame
nameastheriverintowhichthey
feed,theyarecalledforks.Thesearetypicallydesignatedbycompass
direction.Forexample,theAmericanRiverreceivesflowfromits
North,Middle,andSouthforks.TheChicagoRiver'sNorthBranchhastheEast,West,andMiddleFork
theSouthBranchhasitsSouthFork,andusedtohaveaWestForkaswell(nowfilledin).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tributary

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TributaryWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Forksaresometimesdesignatedasrightorleft.Here,the"handedness"isfromthepointofviewofan
observerfacingupstream.Forinstance,SteerCreekhasalefttributarywhichiscalledRightForkSteer
Creek.

Orderingandenumeration
Tributariesaresometimeslistedstartingwiththosenearesttothesourceoftheriverandendingwiththose
nearesttothemouthoftheriver.TheStrahlerStreamOrderexaminesthearrangementoftributariesina
hierarchyoffirst,second,third,andhigherorders,withthefirstordertributarybeingtypicallytheleastin
size.Forexample,asecondordertributarywouldbetheresultoftwoormorefirstordertributaries
combiningtoformthesecondordertributary.
Anothermethodistolisttributariesfrommouthtosource,intheformofatreestructure,storedasatree
datastructure.

Seealso
Estuary

References
1. "tributary"(http://www.physicalgeography.net/physgeoglos/t.html).
InNorway,theriverGlomma
PhysicalGeograhphy.net,MichaelPidwirny&ScottJones,2009.Viewed
17September2012.
meetsitsmaintributaryVorma.
2. "affluent"(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/affluent).The
AmericanHeritageDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,FourthEdition.
HoughtonMifflinCompany,2004.Viewed30Sep.2008.
3. MerriamWebster(http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/tributary?show=1&t=1298147913)
4. "oppositetoatributary"(http://www.physicalgeography.net/physgeoglos/t.html).PhysicalGeograhphy.net,
MichaelPidwirny&ScottJones,2009.Viewed17September2012.

Externallinks
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Tributary&oldid=684799730"
Categories: Physicalgeography Rivers Tributaries
Waterstreams

Lookuptributary,
confluent,oraffluentin
Wiktionary,thefree
dictionary.

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