The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America or the Laurentian Great Lakes, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes with certain sea-like characteristics in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. They are Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario and are in general on or near the Canada–United States border. Hydrologically, lakes Michigan and Huron are a single body joined at the Straits of Mackinac. The Great Lakes Waterway enables modern travel and shipping by water among the lakes.
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes of North America, and among freshwater lakes, it is the world's largest by surface area and the third-largest by volume. It holds 10% of the world's surface fresh water. It straddles the Canada–United States border with the province of Ontario to the north, and the states of Minnesota to the northwest and Wisconsin and the Michigan to the south. Lake Superior is the most northerly and most westerly of the Great Lakes chain, and the highest in elevation. It drains into Lake Huron via St. Marys River.
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system on the North American continent, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,340 miles (3,770 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is entirely within the United States; the total drainage basin is 1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km2), of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the thirteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest river in the world, though this has been contested by research suggesting that the Amazon River is slightly longer. Of the world's major rivers, the Nile is one of the smallest, as measured by annual flow in cubic metres of water. About 6,650 km (4,130 mi) long, its drainage basin covers eleven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt, Sudan and South Sudan. Additionally, the Nile is an important economic river, supporting agriculture and fishing.
The St. Lawrence River is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America, flowing from Lake Ontario in a roughly northeasterly direction into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean and forming the primary drainage outflow of the Great Lakes Basin. The river traverses the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec as well as the U.S. state of New York, and is part of the international boundary between Canada and the United States. It also provides the basis for the commercial St. Lawrence Seaway.
An endorheic basin is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water, such as rivers or oceans, but drainage converges instead into lakes or swamps, permanent or seasonal, that equilibrate through evaporation. They are also called closed or terminal basins, internal drainage systems, or simply just basins. Endorheic regions contrast with exorheic regions. Endorheic water bodies include some of the largest lakes in the world, such as the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland body of water.
Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, 24 mi (39 km) east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. Lake Mead provides water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada as well as some of Mexico, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland.
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called resacas. In Australia, oxbow lakes are called billabongs. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether or not it is cut off from the main stream.
The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, 80 kilometres (50 mi) due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for 75 kilometres (47 mi) into the Tasman Sea 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Greymouth.
Poerua River is a river in Westland District in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows from its headwaters in the Southern Alps to the Tasman Sea near Harihari. The river is a trout and salmon fishing location and its mouth is where it is met by the Hinatua River and is located roughly a kilometre south of the Wanganui River's mouth. On the morning of 6 October 1999, a landslide from Mount Adams blocked the Poerua River, creating a landslide dam about 11 km upstream from the State Highway 6 bridge over the river. Despite fears of flooding and other damage, there were relatively minimal impacts when the dam was breached six days later, though significant quantities of coarse gravel were deposited downstream and the river's course was changed in places.
Lake Poerua is a shallow lake located in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island roughly 13 km southeast from Lake Brunner. It is located between the Alexandra Range and the slopes of Mount Te Kinga, to the north of the lake. The area around Lake Poerua is sparsely populated. A number of small streams flow into the lake, and the Poerua River flows from the lake into the Crooked River, which leads to Lake Brunner.
Crooked River is a river that flows from headwaters in the Southern Alps to Lake Brunner in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It is named for the erratic path it takes. Near Lake Brunner, it passes through reasonably flat farmland, but closer to its source, it rushes through gorges and rapids. One tributary is the Poerua River from Lake Poerua.
Inchbonnie is a rural locality in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the north bank of the Taramakau River and is just to the south of Lake Poerua. "Inchbonnie" is a hybrid of Lowland Scots, bonnie meaning "pretty" and Scottish Gaelic innis meaning island, often anglicised as "Inch", as in Inchkeith or Inchkenneth in Scotland.
Mount Adams is a mountain in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. The summit is roughly 19 km south of Harihari and reaches 2,208 metres (7,244 ft) in height.
The Hinatua River is a small river in the Westland District of New Zealand's South Island. Its headwaters are on Mount Hercules, near State Highway 6 as it runs between Harihari and Te Taho. The Hinatua River then flows in a general northerly direction, passing just to the east of the Saltwater Lagoon before flowing close to the Tasman Sea coastline before joining the Poerua River at its rivermouth.
The Willberg River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It initially flows northwest before turning southwest, reaching the Poerua River 12 kilometres south of Harihari.
Poerua River may refer to one of two rivers on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island:
An ecological area is a type of New Zealand protected area. They are usually large and usually feature the main ecosystems of a defined ecological district. There are currently 57 recognised ecological areas in New Zealand.
Mount Te Kinga is a mountain on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island within the western foothills of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. The mountain is on the south-eastern shore of Lake Brunner and is not a part of a larger mountain range, being separated from the Hohonu Range to the west by the Orangipuku River and from the Alexander Range to the southeast by the Poerua River. Numerous small creeks flow from Te Kinga, all of which end up eventually flowing into the nearby Lake Brunner.