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!

Scope
This WikiProject Rivers aims primarily to describe the Earth's rivers in a consistent and complete fashion. Waterfalls on rivers are also within the scope of this project.

Hierarchy definition
Classification standards for river articles uses the standard classifications and definitions, including
 * Stub
 * Start
 * C
 * B
 * A
 * Good Article (GA)
 * List
 * Featured List (FL)

Pages that are Category, Disambig, File, Portal, Project, and Template should be classified as such. Pages that are Redirects should be classified NA.

The classification, Class=, is set in the WikiProject Rivers template. See this proposal on dividing a topic into a hierarchy.

The Importance, Importance=, is set in the WikiProject Rivers template to one of the following: Top, High, Mid, Low, NA. Articles without importance show an importance of ???.

Things to do

 * Improve the quality of river articles, striving for featured articles (currently articles), featured lists (currently  articles), and Rivers recognized content.
 * Improve articles by reviewing articles that have been nominated for deletion, merging, splitting or renaming (see ).
 * Improve articles by reviewing and making changes to articles in the
 * Update river articles that need attention, maps, images, infoboxes, etc. Maintenance of river articles includes adding infoboxes, adding importance, adding maps, adding images, and assessing quality
 * Articles needing Infobox rivers (needs-infobox=Yes): Category:River articles needing infoboxes ( articles)
 * Unassessed River Articles (class=): Category:Unassessed River articles ( articles)
 * Unknown Importance River Articles (importance=): Category:Unknown-importance River articles
 * Needs maps (mapneeded=Yes): Category:River articles needing maps
 * Needs attention (attention=Yes): Category:River articles needing attention

Parentage
The parent of this WikiProject is the WikiProject Geography.

Descendant WikiProjects and task forces

 * Waterfalls task force formerly WikiProject Waterfalls focused on Waterfalls
 * WikiProject River Thames

Similar WikiProjects
For naming in geography: Projects covering other geographical features: Related topics:
 * WikiProject Country subdivisions#Naming
 * WikiProject Glaciers
 * WikiProject Lakes
 * WikiProject Mountains
 * WikiProject UK Waterways
 * WikiProject Ecoregions


 * WikiProject Water

Active members
Please feel free to add yourself here in alphabetical order, and to indicate any areas of particular interest.
 * 1)  A Rose  Wolf  - Rivers in Alaska
 * 2) Andy Mabbett =
 * 3)  – focusing on rivers in Poland, eg Grajcarek
 * 4)  – Rivers in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
 * 5)  – Rivers in Scotland
 * 6)  – river morphology
 * 7)  – Rivers in Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia
 * 8)  - Rivers in Taiwan
 * 9)  - North America, especially the western US, especially California, especially the Sierra Nevada
 * 10)  – Categories
 * 11)  – Canadian rivers
 * 12)  – Creeks in the San Francisco Bay area, and aerial views of rivers, creeks, reservoirs, etc.
 * 13)  – estuarine ecosystems
 * 14)  – Minnesota Rivers
 * 15)  – UK rivers
 * 16)  – writing articles about small US streams (creeks) and how they were so named.
 * 17)  – African rivers
 * 18)  – Bouchard Creek on the Island of Montreal
 * 19)  – UK rivers
 * 20)  – cartography
 * 21)  – Texas rivers
 * 22)  – northern Wisconsin rivers and streams, Sierra Nevada (US) foothills streams
 * 23)  – geography of Europe
 * 24)  — Rivers of Western Canada, mostly Saskatchewan
 * 25)  – world. Coordinates and logic. Project Water Bodies (Водные объекты) in Ruwiki.
 * 26)  – river fisheries
 * 27)  - UK rivers and canals
 * 28)  - US stub-level rivers and lakes
 * 29)  – Columbia River
 * 30)  – Hudson River
 * 31)  – templates, rivers in Sri Lanka
 * 32)  – translation from Chinese and Russian sources
 * 33)  – Editing Dead Links For Mostly American Rivers, but I might sneak in some other continents (2022 Edit: I'll do what I can)
 * 34)  – rivers of Canada, mostly focusing on Albertan rivers and creeks, of which there are many.
 * 35)  – all articles "karst" & "hydro", rivers in Bosnia & Dinarides, created Neretva & many other in Dinarides, trout & fish sp.
 * 36)  - California streams and rivers, their ecology, effects of beaver on, salmonids, or any stream/river I visit
 * 37)  – Western United States and elsewhere
 * 38)  - South Indian rivers, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala
 * 39)  – navigable rivers and estuaries; flow variation; aquatic biochemistry; riparian groundwater
 * 40)  – Mid-Atlantic United States Rivers, midwest rivers, and adding infoboxes to those articles that do not have them
 * 41)  – Infoboxes & Wikidata, QA, consistency
 * 42)  – Prefer Indian Rivers
 * 43)  – European and Swiss rivers
 * 1)  - US stub-level rivers and lakes
 * 2)  – Columbia River
 * 3)  – Hudson River
 * 4)  – templates, rivers in Sri Lanka
 * 5)  – translation from Chinese and Russian sources
 * 6)  – Editing Dead Links For Mostly American Rivers, but I might sneak in some other continents (2022 Edit: I'll do what I can)
 * 7)  – rivers of Canada, mostly focusing on Albertan rivers and creeks, of which there are many.
 * 8)  – all articles "karst" & "hydro", rivers in Bosnia & Dinarides, created Neretva & many other in Dinarides, trout & fish sp.
 * 9)  - California streams and rivers, their ecology, effects of beaver on, salmonids, or any stream/river I visit
 * 10)  – Western United States and elsewhere
 * 11)  - South Indian rivers, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala
 * 12)  – navigable rivers and estuaries; flow variation; aquatic biochemistry; riparian groundwater
 * 13)  – Mid-Atlantic United States Rivers, midwest rivers, and adding infoboxes to those articles that do not have them
 * 14)  – Infoboxes & Wikidata, QA, consistency
 * 15)  – Prefer Indian Rivers
 * 16)  – European and Swiss rivers
 * 1)  - South Indian rivers, in Tamil Nadu and Kerala
 * 2)  – navigable rivers and estuaries; flow variation; aquatic biochemistry; riparian groundwater
 * 3)  – Mid-Atlantic United States Rivers, midwest rivers, and adding infoboxes to those articles that do not have them
 * 4)  – Infoboxes & Wikidata, QA, consistency
 * 5)  – Prefer Indian Rivers
 * 6)  – European and Swiss rivers
 * 1)  – Mid-Atlantic United States Rivers, midwest rivers, and adding infoboxes to those articles that do not have them
 * 2)  – Infoboxes & Wikidata, QA, consistency
 * 3)  – Prefer Indian Rivers
 * 4)  – European and Swiss rivers
 * 1)  – Infoboxes & Wikidata, QA, consistency
 * 2)  – Prefer Indian Rivers
 * 3)  – 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.


 * 1) Alvar ☮  =  - rivers of France
 * 2)  – river ecosystems
 * 3)  - rivers in the Southwestern United States
 * 4)  - Pennsylvania streams, creeks, and rivers
 * 5)  - Oregon geography
 * 6)  - especially African rivers
 * 7)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 8)  - floods
 * 9)  - Focusing on New York
 * 10)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  – river ecosystems
 * 2)  - rivers in the Southwestern United States
 * 3)  - Pennsylvania streams, creeks, and rivers
 * 4)  - Oregon geography
 * 5)  - especially African rivers
 * 6)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 7)  - floods
 * 8)  - Focusing on New York
 * 9)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - Pennsylvania streams, creeks, and rivers
 * 2)  - Oregon geography
 * 3)  - especially African rivers
 * 4)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 5)  - floods
 * 6)  - Focusing on New York
 * 7)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - Oregon geography
 * 2)  - especially African rivers
 * 3)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 4)  - floods
 * 5)  - Focusing on New York
 * 6)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - especially African rivers
 * 2)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 3)  - floods
 * 4)  - Focusing on New York
 * 5)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - especially African rivers
 * 2)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 3)  - floods
 * 4)  - Focusing on New York
 * 5)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - especially African rivers
 * 2)  – Bangladesh rivers
 * 3)  - floods
 * 4)  - Focusing on New York
 * 5)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - Focusing on New York
 * 2)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - Focusing on New York
 * 2)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - active in Wikidata and OpenStreetMap river projects.
 * 1)  - 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 using either the parent river, country or (if both in the same country) the largest geographical entity that distinguishes them (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 many 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 an 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 as stated in the UK Waterways Writing Guide.
 * 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: 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.
 * 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.

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 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, updated in 2003 as ISBN 1-56973-548-4.

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.

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. WikiProject Maps gives advice on the conventions to be used. The map should be included in the Maps section of the template. Pushpin maps showing the location of the mouth of the river should be included if there is no tailored map for the specific river. Route maps are optional, a sample can be seen at River Medway map.

Geographical coordinates
Every river article should include geographical coordinates for at least the mouth or mouth and source of the river. WikiProject Geographical coordinates/Linear gives advice on the positioning of these coordinates. The coordinates of the source and mouth are included in the Infobox river template:
 * Mouth: |mouth_coordinates=°N, °W
 * Source: |source1_coordinates =

Other significant points may be included inline in the text using °N, °W.

The draft proposals for features that may be handled by this project suggest:

Indexing
Every river article should be indexed in lists of rivers, along with its major tributaries.

Categories

 * Every article should have a category. If a river is restricted to one country, list it in Category:Rivers of country, e.g. Category:Rivers of Germany. If it runs through several countries, list it in each country category.
 * A country-level category may be subdivided by region, province, department, state etc. (e.g. Category:Rivers of California.)
 * These may in turn be subdivided, e.g. Category:Rivers of Lake County, California
 * When a river is placed in a subdivision category(s) it may or may not be also placed in the parent category. This should be done consistently, so a given parent category is either empty or holds a complete list of rivers.
 * Parent cat may be added to the head of the parent category to provide links to reports that list all rivers in the child category, and that report any discrepancies.
 * Rivers may be categorized by other characteristics, e.g.
 * Category:Braided rivers in France
 * Category:Subterranean rivers of the United States
 * Category:Tributaries of the Rhine

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

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

Cleanup listing
A range of tasks are available at Cleanup listing.

Subpages

 * List of

Project banner
The template banner is available to add to the talk pages of river articles and gives:


 * 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  . 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.

Infobox river
The template 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.

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

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