The Mississippi River System, also referred to as the Western Rivers, is a mostly riverine network of the United States which includes the Mississippi River and connecting waterways. The Mississippi River is the largest drainage basin in the United States. In the United States, the Mississippi drains about 41% of the country's rivers.
From the perspective of natural geography and hydrology, the system consists of the Mississippi River itself and its numerous natural tributaries and distributaries. The major tributaries are the Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and Red rivers. Given their flow volumes, major Ohio River tributaries like the Allegheny, Tennessee, and Wabash rivers are considered important tributaries to the Mississippi system. Before the Mississippi River reaches the Gulf of Mexico, it runs into its distributary, the Atchafalaya River.
The Drin (/driːn/; Albanian pronunciation: [dɾin], Albanian definite form: Drini, pronounced [ˈdɾini]) or Drim (Serbian and Macedonian: Дрим, pronounced [drim]), is a river in Southeastern Europe with two major tributaries – the White Drin and the Black Drin and two distributaries – one discharging into the Adriatic Sea, in the Gulf of Drin and the other into the Buna River. Its catchment area extends across Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and North Macedonia and is home to more than 1.6 million people. The river and its tributaries form the Gulf of Drin, an ocean basin that encompasses the northern Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast.
At 285 kilometres (177 miles) long, the Drin is the longest river of Albania and its tributaries cross through both Kosovo and North Macedonia. Its northern tributary, the White Drin starts from the foothills of Žljeb, at White Drin Waterfall in west Kosovo, and flows generally south, whereas its southern tributary, the Black Drin originates from Ohrid lake in the town of Struga, North Macedonia and flows north. Both tributaries' confluence occurs near Kukës in northeast Albania and Drin then flows westwards through the Albanian Alps and Dukagjin Highlands, where three successive dams were erected between 1960s and late 1980s, forming 3 large artificial lakes. The Drin then passes Vau i Dejës and drains into the Adriatic Sea through its two distributaries in Buna river and west of Lezhë.
The Kir (Albanian: Kir or Kiri) is a river in northern Albania that first flows south-southwest and then southwest out of the North Albanian Alps and enters a distributary of the Drin just below Shkodër.
In the upper reaches the river cuts the "Canyon of the Kir" with dramatic cliffs.The Albanian tribe or fis of Kiri inhabited this area. Just outside Shkodër, in Mes, the old stone Mes Bridge crosses the Kir.
The Kuban is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucasus and drains into the Sea of Azov. The Kuban runs mostly through Krasnodar Krai for 660 kilometres (410 mi), but also in the Karachay–Cherkess Republic, Stavropol Krai and the Republic of Adygea.
The Kuban flows 870 kilometres (540 mi) north and west from its source near Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, eventually reaching Temryuk Bay in the Sea of Azov. It is navigable up to Krasnodar. Major cities on the river are Karachayevsk, Cherkessk, Nevinnomyssk, Armavir, Novokubansk, Kropotkin, Ust-Labinsk, Krasnodar and Temryuk. Despite its name, Slavyansk-on-Kuban lies not on the Kuban River, but on its distributary the Protoka.
River bifurcation (from Latin: furca, fork) occurs when a river (a bifurcating river) flowing in a single channel separates into two or more separate streams (called distributaries) which then continue downstream. Some rivers form complex networks of distributaries, typically in their deltas. If the streams eventually merge again or empty into the same body of water, then the bifurcation forms a river island.
River bifurcation may be temporary or semi-permanent, depending on the strength of the material that is dividing the two distributaries. For example, a mid-stream island of soil or silt in a delta is most likely temporary, due to low material strength. A location where a river divides around a rock fin, e.g. a volcanically formed dike, or a mountain, may be more lasting as a result of higher material strength and resistance to weathering and erosion. A bifurcation may also be man-made, for example when two streams are separated by a long bridge pier.
The Red River is a major river in the Southern United States. It was named for its reddish water color from passing through red-bed country in its watershed. It also is known as the Red River of the South to distinguish it from the Red River of the North, which flows between Minnesota and North Dakota into the Canadian province of Manitoba. Although once a tributary of the Mississippi River, the Red River now is a tributary of the Atchafalaya River, a distributary of the Mississippi that flows separately into the Gulf of Mexico. This confluence is connected to the Mississippi River by the Old River Control Structure.
The south bank of the Red River formed part of the US–Mexico border from the Adams–Onís Treaty (in force only in 1821), until the Texas Annexation and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The Atchafalaya River (/əˌtʃæf.əˈlaɪ.ə/) is a 137-mile-long (220 km) distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River, and is the fifth largest river in North America, by discharge. The name Atchafalaya comes from Choctaw for 'long river', from hachcha, 'river', and falaya, 'long'.
The Hooghly River (/ˈhuːɡli/; Bengali: Hugli [ˈɦuɡli]) is the westernmost distributary of the Ganges, situated in West Bengal, India. It is known in its upper reaches as the Bhagirathi. The Bhagirathi splits off from the main branch of the Ganges at Giria. A short distance west, it meets the man-made Farakka Feeder Canal, which massively increases its flow. The river then flows south to join the Jalangi at Nabadwip, where it becomes the Hooghly proper. The Hooghly continues southwards, passing through the metropolis of Kolkata. Thereafter, it empties into the Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries include the Ajay, Damodar, Rupnarayan, and Haldi.
The Hooghly has religious significance as Hindus consider the river sacred. It also plays a major role in the agriculture, industry, and climate of the state.