Wikipedia:WikiProject Rivers

A few Wikipedians have gotten together to make some suggestions about how we might organize data in articles about rivers. These are only suggestions, things to give you focus and to get you going, and you shouldn't feel obligated in the least to follow them. But if you don't know what to write or where to begin, following the guidelines below may be helpful. Mainly, we just want you to write articles!

River articles by quality and importance
Quality	Importance
	Top	High	Mid	Low	NA	???	Total
FA		2	7	11			20
FL			1	7			8
GA		6	18	83			107
B	10	30	72	191		53	356
C	14	68	235	1,259		124	1,700
Start	3	110	691	6,887		309	8,000
Stub		32	644	25,694		766	27,136
List	1	193	250	171	7	8	630
Category					4,297		4,297
Disambig				2	276		278
File					44		44
Portal					58		58
Project					11		11
Template			1	1	2,741		2,743
NA		2	12	7,648	788		8,450
Other					15		15
Assessed	28	443	1,931	41,954	8,237	1,260	53,853
Unassessed				4		205	209
Total	28	443	1,931	41,958	8,237	1,465	54,062
WikiWork factors (?)		ω = 210,902			Ω = 5.65

Title

WikiProject Rivers

Scope

This WikiProject aims primarily to describe the Earth's rivers in a consistent and complete fashion.

Hierarchy definition

No classification of Rivers has been defined. See this proposal on dividing a topic into a hierarchy.

Related projects

Parentage

The parent of this WikiProject is the WikiProject Geography.

Descendant WikiProjects

No descendant WikiProjects have been defined.

Similar WikiProjects

For naming in geography:

• WikiProject Country subdivisions#Naming

Projects covering other geographical features:

• WikiProject Glaciers
• WikiProject Lakes
• WikiProject Mountains
• WikiProject UK Waterways

Participants

Member userboxes

Code	Result
{{Template:User WP Rivers}}	This user actively participates in WikiProject Rivers.	Usage
{{Template:User WikiProject Rivers}}	This user is a participant in WikiProject Rivers.	Usage

Active members

Please feel free to add yourself here in alphabetical order, and to indicate any areas of particular interest.

1. Advanstra (talk · contribs)
2. Afil (talk · contribs)
3. Andy Mabbett = Pigsonthewing (talk · contribs)
4. Arbustum (talk · contribs) - focusing on rivers in Poland, eg Grajcarek
5. Are1718 (talk · contribs) - Rivers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
6. Awickert (talk · contribs) - river morphology
7. Bermicourt (talk · contribs)
8. Bill McKenna (talk · contribs)
9. Callanecc (talk · contribs)
10. ContrillionAU (talk · contribs)
11. CQ (talk · contribs) - river ecosystems
12. Curoi (talk · contribs)
13. Daniel Case (talk · contribs)
14. Darwinek (talk · contribs)
15. Dav4is (talk · contribs) - Categories
16. Dentren (talk · contribs)
17. Epipelagic (talk · contribs) - estuarine ecosystems
18. Finetooth (talk · contribs)
19. Gerrit (talk · contribs)
20. Gilliam (talk · contribs)
21. Gjs238 (talk · contribs)
22. Graycake (talk · contribs) - rivers in the Southwestern United States
23. Jokulhlaup (talk · contribs) - UK rivers
24. Juliancolton (talk · contribs)
25. Jonhmethar (talk · contribs)
26. Kau thænt (talk · contribs)
27. Kierano (talk · contribs)
28. Kmusser (talk · contribs) - cartography
29. Kuru (talk · contribs) - Texas rivers
30. LaurentianShield (talk · contribs) - northern Wisconsin rivers and streams, Sierra Nevada (US) foothills streams
31. Llywrch (talk · contribs)
32. Lotheric (talk · contribs)
33. Мастер теней (talk · contribs) — world. Coordinates and logic. Project Water Bodies (Водные объекты) in Ruwiki.
34. Markussep (talk · contribs) - geography of Europe
35. Mike Cline (talk · contribs) - river fisheries
36. Narthring (talk · contribs)
37. Northamerica1000 (talk · contribs)
38. Peteforsyth (talk · contribs) - Columbia River
39. Pfly (talk · contribs)
40. PimRijkee (talk · contribs)
41. PointsofNoReturn (talk · contribs) - Hudson River
42. Rehman (talk · contribs) - templates, rivers in Sri Lanka
43. Riverhugger (talk · contribs) - translation from Chinese and Russian sources
44. Rmhermen (talk · contribs)
45. Ruhrfisch (talk · contribs)
46. SaltedSturgeon (talk · contribs) - rivers of Canada, mostly focusing on Albertan rivers and creeks, of which there are many.
47. Santasa99 (talk · contribs) - all articles "karst" & "hydro", rivers in Bosnia & Dinarides, created Neretva & many other in Dinarides, trout & fish sp.
48. Shannon1 (talk · contribs) - Western United States and elsewhere
49. Spencer (talk · contribs)
50. Stackler (talk · contribs)
51. Stan Shebs (talk · contribs)
52. Tarif Ezaz (talk · contribs) - Bangladesh rivers
53. The Bushranger (talk · contribs)
54. Thewellman (talk · contribs) - navigable rivers and estuaries; flow variation; aquatic biochemistry; riparian groundwater
55. TimK MSI (talk · contribs)
56. Titanium Wolf (talk · contribs)
57. TomCat4680 (talk · contribs)
58. Triglav (talk · contribs)
59. VerruckteDan (talk · contribs)
60. Wiki tamil 100 (talk · contribs)
61. Wikiacc (talk · contribs)
62. Youngamerican (talk · contribs)
63. ZH8000 (talk · contribs) - European and Swiss rivers

Inactive members

This is a list of people who are members of the project but haven't edited Wikipedia for a year. If you find your name on this list, feel free to move it back to the list of active participants when you return to editing.

Inactive members list

1. AlexNebraska (talk · contribs)
2. All Is One (talk · contribs)
3. Alvar☮ = Alvaro (talk · contribs) - rivers of France
4. Analogdemon (talk · contribs)
5. AndrewEnns (talk · contribs)
6. Bolonium (talk · contribs)
7. Cgoodwin (talk · contribs)
8. Chase I (talk · contribs)
9. Chemicalinterest (talk · contribs)
10. ChristopherM (talk · contribs)
11. Crackerbelly (talk · contribs)
12. Curtaintoad (talk · contribs)
13. Ericleb01 (talk · contribs)
14. Hydrogen Iodide (talk · contribs)
15. Imars (talk · contribs)
16. J293339 (talk · contribs)
17. Jakec (talk · contribs) - Pennsylvania streams, creeks, and rivers
18. Jdorje (talk · contribs)
19. Jezhotwells (talk · contribs)
20. Jonathan.s.kt (talk · contribs)
21. Kborland (talk · contribs)
22. LeheckaG (talk · contribs)
23. Little Mountain 5 (talk · contribs) - Oregon geography
24. Lonewolf BC (talk · contribs)
25. Magnetawan (talk · contribs)
26. MCalamari (talk · contribs)
27. MED usgswrd (talk · contribs)
28. Nebraska3 (talk · contribs)
29. Nowhither (talk · contribs)
30. Papayoung (talk · contribs)
31. Peter Shearan (talk · contribs)
32. Pollinator (talk · contribs)
33. SatuSuro (talk · contribs)
34. Sculptorjones (talk · contribs)
35. Southern Texas (talk · contribs)
36. stavros1 (talk · contribs)
37. Suksesi (talk · contribs) - especially African rivers
38. Tim P (talk · contribs) - floods
39. Tomandjerry211 (talk · contribs)
40. Tripp155 (talk · contribs) - Focusing on New York
41. Vdiest (talk · contribs)
42. Waltpohl (talk · contribs)
43. werner2101 (talk · contribs) - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.

Naming

River articles may be named "X", "X River", or "River X", depending on location and most common usage. "River X" is used for many (but not all) rivers in the UK and Ireland. "X River" is the norm in the Americas. "X river" (i.e. non-capitalized "river") is not recommended. When common usage does not include the word "River", but disambiguation is required (e.g. the river Inn in central Europe), parenthetical, non-capitalized "river" should be used: Inn (river). In other words neither "river" (without parentheses) nor "River" should be used to disambiguate articles. Country-specific exceptions to this rule should be discussed within WikiProject Rivers and/or that country's WikiProject.

If different rivers with the same name exist, disambiguate with parentheses (e.g. the Vils (Danube), Vils (Naab) and Vils (Lech); the Turiec (Váh) and Turiec (Sajó); and the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado River (Potosi), Colorado River (Costa Rica), etc.) The exception is UK rivers - see below.

Multiple rivers with the same name

Because there are lots of rivers in the world with the same name (e.g. the Columbia River has two tributaries named the Salmon River, another flows into the lower Fraser River and one more has been identified in Nova Scotia), not all of which are recent namings in the Americas (e.g. there are four rivers in England called River Avon), the following method of disambiguation is used:

• The primary topic can stay at the undisambiguated title while lesser-known ones add a qualifier, e.g., Jordan River (in the Middle East), Jordan River (disambiguation), Jordan River (Utah)
• In practice, most rivers needing disambiguation have been identified by the smallest appropriate political entity, e.g., Colorado River and Colorado River (Texas).
  • Always use parentheses for the disambiguating term for U.S., New Zealand, Australian and continental European rivers, not a comma, e.g., Indian River (Michigan), not Indian River, Michigan, which is actually a town.
  • British rivers have used the "River, Place" format, e.g., River Wye, Derbyshire.
• A river can be identified uniquely as a tributary of another river, e.g., Rio Puerco (Rio Grande tributary).
• If a river with an ambiguous name empties directly into a lake or definable sea, then the name of that body of water could follow in parentheses, e.g., Churchill River (Hudson Bay).

Rivers with multiple names

Some rivers have names with multiple spellings which vary with the different countries the rivers pass through. An example would be the Cunene River in Angola, which is known as the Kunene River in Namibia. Occasionally, a river can have several genuinely distinct names. For example, the Cuando River not only has the variant spelling Kwando, it's also called the Linyanti and the Chobe. The following rules are suggested for choosing a primary name for such a river:

• If the river is particularly famous or most commonly mentioned under one name, then choose that name.
• If the section of the river that uses a particular name is much longer than other sections, then use that as the name.
• If everything else is equal, then choose the name for the section of the river closest to the river's mouth, since generally that is where the river is widest.

It is important that all the alternate names redirect to the name chosen for the article title. This helps prevent the creation of duplicate articles.

Article structure guidelines

Lead

The lead section should be a self-contained description including a summary of the most important things that are described in the article. The name(s) – both historic and current – should be in bold. State the location (continent/countries/seaboards), and notable facts about the river, such as longest, second longest, main waterway of a country, etc. For more information see Wikipedia:Lead.

History

Describe what is known about the different inhabitants along the river, along with a description of the scientific exploration expeditions/efforts. Typically, start from indigenous people and work up from there.

Course

The narrative description of the course should proceed from the main headwater of the river downstream to its mouth, noting direction, size, major tributaries, human settlements, waterfalls, dams, and so forth. This should be at least a paragraph, may be several paragraphs for long rivers. This section can include numerical data on length, volume, drainage basin, etc.

Info on major water basins can be found at World resources Institute (site is down; archive)

For the largest one or two tributaries of the river, a short description of them should be added (perhaps under a "Tributaries" subsection) with "main" links.

Source

When the source of the river is complex, such as a network of smaller streams, or a spring and cave system, consider if the source would be better described in its own section or sub-section separately from the course section. In simpler cases, such as when a river merely originates from a lake, discuss in the course section.

Watershed

Include information about the geography and distribution of drainage basins, the location of mountain ranges, valleys, major cities, etc. Mention climate of the different areas of the watershed, and information about water quality, etc.

River modifications

In this section describe the dams, diversion canals, bridges and culverts, roads, and other engineering projects associated with or with a big impact on the river.

Natural history

Mention distinctive plants and animals associated with any part of the river. This section may also be titled Wildlife or Biology.

Geology

The evolution of some rivers has been well explored (e.g., the Missoula Floods and their effect on the Columbia River). Such information should be placed here, with a suitable discussion of all POVs when possible. See also Glacial geology of the Genesee River.

Economy

A countless number of rivers have been used as means to transport people, goods, etc., and are still used so today. All such information should be described here. Stylistically, this can be a good segue from history, connecting past uses of the river to present-day uses.

Lists

• List the tributaries, starting from the mouth and going upstream. Add important subtributaries in sublists. Major tributaries should be links, if there is a reasonable chance of article content, minor tributaries should be just names.
• List the cities and towns along the river, also in upstream order.
• List dams, locks, waterfalls, rapids, if there are more than a couple and/or they're not mentioned in the lead or course narrative.
• List crossings of the river.

References and external links

Preferably refer to history, ecology, public policy, books, websites, etc.

Images

There should be at least one picture, preferably a typical view. Important rivers should have additional pictures illustrating their notable features. Maps of the river's course and of its watershed are highly desirable.

Map

Every river article should include a map. Wikipedia:WikiProject Maps gives advice on the conventions to be used. The map should be included in the Geobox template. Route maps are optional, a sample can be seen at {{River Medway map}}.

Geographical coordinates

Every river article should include geographical coordinates. Wikipedia:WikiProject Geographical coordinates/Linear gives advice on the positioning of these coordinates. The coordinates of the source and mouth should be included in the Geobox template, other significant points may be included inline the text using {{coord|x|y}}. The draft proposals for features that may be handled by this project suggest:

feature	main coordinates	further recommended coordinates	optional additions	examples
river	estuary/mouth	source, major confluences	crossings, other confluences, boundaries crossed, weirs, major changes in direction, islands
valley	???	both ends?	watersheds, rivers, settlements, landmarks, features
canal	midpoint5	both ends	junctions, wharves, crossings, locks
bridge	midpoint	both ends	features crossed, support pillars

Indexing

Every river article should be indexed in lists of rivers and indexed in list of rivers by continent, along with its major tributaries.

Categories

Every article should have a category. If a river is restricted to one country, list in Category:rivers of country. If it runs through several, list in each country category.

In the United States, the county(s) in which the river flows may be added as a category; this information can be found via GNIS.

Articles

A detailed list of recognized content is available at Rivers recognized content.

Article alerts

Proposed deletions

• 29 Jun 2024 – Dry Brook (East Brook tributary) (talk · edit · hist) PRODed by GoldRomean (t · c) was deleted

Good article nominees

• 05 Mar 2024 – Grande Ronde River (talk · edit · hist) was GA nominated by Shannon1 (t · c); see discussion

Requested moves

• 10 Jul 2024 – Tonlé Sap (talk · edit · hist) is requested to be moved to Tonlé Sap Lake by ទន្លេតូច (t · c); see discussion

Articles to be merged

• 15 Feb 2024 – Upper Suriname River (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for merging to Suriname River by P199 (t · c); see discussion

Articles to be split

• 13 Sep 2023 – Mullins River (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by 67.70.25.175 (t · c); see discussion
• 01 Jan 2022 – Paluxy River (talk · edit · hist) is proposed for splitting by FunkMonk (t · c); see discussion

Articles for creation

• 06 Jul 2024 – Draft:Pontbriand River (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Nichole Ouellette (t · c)
• 02 Jul 2024 – Draft:Thoubal River (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Significa liberdade (t · c)
• 05 Jun 2024 – Draft:Cardiff Rivers Group (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by A2-33 (t · c)
• 29 Mar 2024 – Draft:Redwood Creek (Contra Costa County) (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Peter J. Caprio (t · c)
• 05 Mar 2024 – Draft:Northeast Creek (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Bigfoot allgame (t · c)
• 06 May 2023 – Draft:Wadi Barut (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Onel5969 (t · c)
• 30 Apr 2023 – Draft:Wadi Jib (talk · edit · hist) has been submitted for AfC by Onel5969 (t · c)

Lists

• Lists of rivers
• List of rivers by average discharge
• List of rivers by continent
• Category:Lists of rivers by country
• List of rivers by length
• List of river name etymologies
• List of drainage basins by area

Categories

Subpages

• List of all subpages of this page

Templates

Project banner

The {{River|class=|importance=|attention=|mapneeded=|needs-infobox=}} template banner is available to add to the talk pages of river articles and gives:

• |mapneeded=yes will add the article's talk page to Category:River articles needing maps

Assessment

An article can be rated by quality and importance; for example, using {{WikiProject Rivers|class=Stub|importance=Low}}. For detailed instructions on quality grading, see: WikiProject Rivers/Assessment. There are many articles that still need to be assessed. You may help us to assess them, please see Category:Unassessed River articles for the complete list.

Infoboxes

Infobox river

The template {{Infobox river}} can be used for representative images and basic information about a river. See the template's documentation for instructions, examples and blank versions of the template to start with. You can see it in action on River Scheldt.

Geobox/type/river

There exists a new {{Geobox}} (version 2) template, at {{Geobox/type/river}}. It is an infobox template that has been adapted for all types of geographical locations. It can accommodate a wide range of data, where the input values can be either metric or imperial and the other figure is calculated automatically. It can have multiple values for river names, basin countries, discharges at various locations and coordinates of both source and mouth, which are linked to wiki maps, etc. The field names are not fully compatible with the earlier Infobox template (e.g. while there's just elevation field in the old template, the new one has source_elevation and mouth_elevation), It specifically allows the adding of maps. You can see it in action at:

• Amazon River
• Vltava
• Ostravice River (with two maps)
• Váh
• Ebro

Navigation boxes

A list of navigation boxes can be found at: Category:River navigational boxes.

Userboxes

Code	Result
{{Template:User interest rivers}}	This user is interested in Rivers.	Usage
{{Template:User WP Rivers}}	This user actively participates in WikiProject Rivers.	Usage
{{Template:User River}}	This user is interested in rivers and fluvial processes.	Usage
{{Template:User WikiProject Rivers}}	This user is a participant in WikiProject Rivers.	Usage

Resources

• transboundarywaters
• earthtrends maps (free registration required)
• U.S. Geological Survey Geological Name Information Server, lists all U.S. rivers with topo maps and many aerial photos. {{gnis}} links to specific entries.
• NWIS - USGS National Water Information System
• Database of Pan-Arctic River Discharge
• Hydrology of Canada