river flow
Water moving downstream
River flow is the movement of water through a river channel, measured by volume over time.
Hydrologists track river flow to predict flooding, manage water resources, and assess ecosystem health.
The term appears in technical contexts: River flow peaks during spring snowmelt.
In everyday speech, people more often say the flow of the river or simply describe how a river runs or moves.
- tributaryStream entering larger river
- basinConcave water receptacle
- water temperatureWarmth of a liquid
- damsWater-blocking structures
- watershedDrainage area boundary
natural channel · water level · runoff · flash flood · braided rivers · infiltration · freshet · irrigation systems · dry season · current · erosion · confluence · streamflow · ripple · coursing · white water · rapids · swift
- flowsworkflow, backflow, current, flux, circulation
- hydrologyrivers, streamflow, aquifers, aquifer, lakes
- water currentscurrent, riptide, eddy, eddies, backflow
- water cyclewater cycle, precipitation, evaporation, condensation, rain
- Nile waterNile, Blue Nile, White Nile, Nile Delta, water supply
- streamflowcurrent, inflow, outflow, hydrograph, water level
river flowstagnation
Absence of flow or progress
stillness · stagnant water · motionlessness · standing water · dead water
river flowdry riverbed
Channel without current water
drought · desiccation · dry wash · arroyo · wadi