Question

Ocean contributes it's water to the main river to from a big river

Answer 1

Answer:

streamflows. Bow River Falls, downstream from the Bow Glacier in Banff, Canada.

Credit: Banff Holidays

Rivers? Streams? Creeks? They are all names for water flowing on the Earth's surface. As far as our Water Science site is concerned, they are pretty much interchangeable. I tend to think of creeks as the smallest of the three, with streams being in the middle, and rivers being the largest.

Most of the water you see flowing in rivers comes from precipitation runoff from the land surface alongside the river. Of course, not all runoff ends up in rivers. Some of it evaporates on the journey downslope, can be diverted and used by people for their uses, and can even be lapped up by thirsty animals. Rivers flow through valleys in the landscape with ridges of higher land separating the valleys. The area of land between ridges that collects precipitation is a watershed or drainage basin. Most, but not all, precipitation that falls in a watershed runs off directly into rivers - part of it soaks into the ground to recharge groundwater aquifers, some of which can then seep back into riverbeds.

What is a river?

A river forms from water moving from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, all due to gravity. When rain falls on the land, it either seeps into the ground or becomes runoff, which flows downhill into rivers and lakes, on its journey towards the seas. In most landscapes the land is not perfectly flat—it slopes downhill in some direction. Flowing water finds its way downhill initially as small creeks. As small creeks flow downhill they merge to form larger streams and rivers. Rivers eventually end up flowing into the oceans. If water flows to a place that is surrounded by higher land on all sides, a lake will form. If people have built a dam to hinder a river's flow, the lake that forms is a reservoir.

Rivers serve many uses

People recreating on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta.

The Chattahoochee River, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. The river serves many purposes, from drinking water to wildlife habitat to a recreation spot for the whole city.

Credit: National Park Service

The phrase "river of life" is not just a random set of words. Rivers have been essential not only to humans, but to all life on earth, ever since life began. Plants and animals grow and congregate around rivers simply because water is so essential to all