Stream

A stream is a continuous <a href="/facts/Body_of_water/MoDAUuW4">body</a> of <a href="/facts/Surface_water/KQCY5RcY">surface water</a> <a href="/facts/Current_(stream)/xRdgYLdU">flowing</a> within the <a href="/facts/Stream_bed/9hcQPGaj">bed</a> and <a href="/facts/Bank_(geography)/sQkkIEkd">banks</a> of a <a href="/facts/Channel_(geography)/zanMS2Ek">channel</a>. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large streams are usually called <a href="/facts/River/GxdjEX21">rivers</a>, while smaller, less voluminous and more <a href="/facts/Intermittent_river/UIPqg1S7">intermittent</a> streams are known, amongst others, as brook, creek, rivulet, rill, run, tributary, feeder, freshet, narrow river, and streamlet.
The flow of a stream is controlled by three inputs – <a href="/facts/Surface_runoff/zPxoaA0D">surface runoff</a> (from <a href="/facts/Precipitation/uq3nGQc8">precipitation</a> or <a href="/facts/Meltwater/SYU7KHgg">meltwater</a>), <a href="/facts/Daylighting_(streams)/EehNvYBp">daylighted</a> <a href="/facts/Subterranean_river/qMy9L50M">subterranean water</a>, and surfaced <a href="/facts/Groundwater/JYM2IDS2">groundwater</a> (<a href="/facts/Spring_(hydrology)/blPBY4VG">spring water</a>). The surface and subterranean water are highly variable between periods of rainfall. Groundwater, on the other hand, has a relatively constant input and is controlled more by long-term patterns of precipitation. The stream encompasses surface, subsurface and groundwater fluxes that respond to geological, geomorphological, hydrological and biotic controls.
Streams are important as conduits in the <a href="/facts/Water_cycle/wALHdKjJ">water cycle</a>, instruments in <a href="/facts/Groundwater_recharge/el8C40xD">groundwater recharge</a>, and corridors for fish and wildlife migration. The biological <a href="/facts/Habitat/zo1DN2gA">habitat</a> in the immediate vicinity of a stream is called a <a href="/facts/Riparian_zone/3NQHWM78">riparian zone</a>. Given the status of the ongoing <a href="/facts/Holocene_extinction/C1LzDDy7">Holocene extinction</a>, streams play an important <a href="/facts/Wildlife_corridor/uN8rroyk">corridor</a> role in connecting <a href="/facts/Habitat_fragmentation/uVIVdT70">fragmented habitats</a> and thus in conserving <a href="/facts/Biodiversity/GruakEzs">biodiversity</a>. The study of streams and <a href="/facts/Waterway/F0cpQUNN">waterways</a> in general is known as surface <a href="/facts/Hydrology/Xh727cnE">hydrology</a> and is a core element of <a href="/facts/Integrated_geography/anIj4dxs">environmental geography</a>.

Stream open-in-new

Stream