tributary
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.1|Nam Khan flows into the [[Mekong at Luang Prabang in Laos.]] 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 the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean, another river, or into an endorheic basin.
AI overview
A tributary is a smaller stream or river that flows into a larger river or lake rather than directly into an ocean or sea. Tributaries are important because they collect water from surrounding land and funnel it into main rivers, which ultimately carry that water to the ocean and help drain the landscape of excess water.
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thumb|upright=1.1|Nam Khan flows into the [[Mekong at Luang Prabang in Laos.]] 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 the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean, another river, or into an endorheic basin.
The Irtysh, a tributary of the Ob river, is the longest tributary river in the world with a length of . The Madeira River is the largest tributary river by volume in the world with an average discharge of .