river source
Where flow begins
A river source is the point where a river begins—a spring, lake, glacier, or marshy ground from which water first flows.
Also called a headwater or headspring.
Explorers historically sought to locate river sources: the search for the source of the Nile.
The source is typically the farthest point from the river's mouth.
- headwaterRiver's origin point
- first dropEarliest downward release
- fountainheadOriginal source of something
- mountain springWater emerging from peaks
- glacierSlow-moving ice mass
spring · sacred spring · watershed · pool · flow · tributary · meltwater · melting snow · current · artesian well · underground stream · precipitation · snowmelt · water cycle · infiltration · valley · water table · seep
- natural water sourcesspring, waterfall, creek, brook, pond
- Yellow RiverLoess Plateau, tributaries, silt, Inner Mongolia, Shandong
- natural sourcesspring, wellspring, mine, quarry, oil field
- Rio GrandeRio Grande, Rio Grande Valley, headwaters, Brownsville, Laredo
- HimalayasMount Everest, Everest, K2, Nepal, Tibet
- fountainsfountain, water fountain, drinking fountain, garden fountain, public fountain
water flow direction
river sourcedownstream
Along the current's path
lower reaches · sink · endpoint · tidewater