lower reaches
Near the mouth
The lower reaches of a river are the sections nearest its mouth, where it flows toward the sea or a larger body of water.
More broadly, lower reaches refers to the less prominent or less prestigious parts of any hierarchy or system: the lower reaches of the music charts, the lower reaches of the civil service.
The phrase implies distance from the top or center of power.
- downstreamAlong the current's path
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
- flood stageCritical water level marker
- water levelHeight of liquid surface
- mouthOral opening
delta · estuary · tributary · river delta · brackish water · channel · riverbank · confluence · mangrove forest · tidal flats · mud flats · backwater · sedimentation · streambed · wetland · marshland · aquatic habitat · watercourse
lower reachesupper reaches
Upstream portions near source
headwaters · source · headstream · head · upstream
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