Where does all the water in a river originate?

The most simplistic answer is that all the water in a river comes from the sky—and that is certainly true, as streamflow is one part of the water cycle. It is also true that most of the water flowing in rivers comes from precipitation runoff from the surrounding landscape (watershed).



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Exorheic, or open lakes drain into a river, or other body of water that ultimately drains into the ocean. Endorheic basins fall into the category of endorheic or closed lakes, wherein waters do not drain into the ocean, but are reduced by evaporation, and/or drain into the ground.

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A stream bed or streambed is the bottom of a stream or river (bathymetry) or the physical confine of the normal water flow (channel). The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood stage.

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