Tributary
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A tributary, or an affluent, is a stream that flows into a larger stream or lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem into which they flow drain the s
Nam Khan flows into the Mekong at Luang Prabang in Laos.
At Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, looking downstream, the Shenandoah River (bottom right) meets the Potomac River, which flows from bottom left to top right, making the Shenandoah a right tributary of the Potomac.
![The Mekong is a trans-boundary river, originating in the Tibetan Plateau. Its upper tributary river systems (e.g. ngom chu [zh]) are restricted to nar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Mekongbasin.jpg/500px-Mekongbasin.jpg)
The Mekong is a trans-boundary river, originating in the Tibetan Plateau. Its upper tributary river systems (e.g. ngom chu [zh]) are restricted to narrow gorges, but the tributaries that feed its lower reaches (e.g. the Mun River) cover larger areas.
Distributary
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A distributary, or a distributary channel is a stream channel that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. It is the opposite of a tributary, a stream that flows towards and into anoth
Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, with the flow from right to left, showing several streams branching off from their main streams
Satellite image of part of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta
A seasonal distributary of the Kaveri River on the Kaveri delta, near Nannilam, India
Delta of Papua New Guinea's Fly River