Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water. It usually refers to the point where a tributary joins a more major river, called the mainstem, when that major river is also the highest order stream in the drainage basin.

The term is also used to describe the meeting of tidal or other non-riverine bodies of water, such as two canals or a canal and a lake. A one-mile (1.6 km) portion of the Industrial Canal in New Orleans accommodates the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet Canal; therefore those three waterways are confluent there.

Notable confluences

• Allahabad in India, where the sacred rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. It is one of the holiest places in Hinduism. The confluence itself is called Triveni Sangam.

• The merging of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. This merging point is the beginning of the Ohio River, thus forming a confluence in Pittsburgh.

• The Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin Rivers in Three Forks, Montana form the confluence of the Missouri River, one of the longest rivers in the United States (2,341 miles (3,767 km)).

• Kuala Lumpur the capital of Malaysia, is situated at the confluence of the Sungai Gombak, (previously known as Sungai Lumpur, which means muddy river) and Sungai Klang (Klang river).

• Passau known also as the Dreiflüssestadt (City of Three Rivers), because the Danube River is joined there by the Inn River from the South, and the Ilz River coming out of the Bavarian Forest to the North.

• Manaus, Brazil is located on the Rio Negro near its confluence with the Amazon. It is the chief port and a hub for the region's extensive river system.

• Osijek, Croatia is located on the right bank of the river Drava 25km upstream of its confluence with the Danube.

• Belgrade, the capital of Serbia lies at the confluence of the Sava and Danube Rivers.

• The Hochelaga Archipelago, including the island and city of Montreal, is located at the confluence of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River in Quebec, Canada.

• The two largest rivers in Australia, the Darling and the Murray converge at Wentworth, New South Wales

• Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland and one of the largest towns above the Arctic Circle, is located on the confluence of rivers Ounasjoki and Kemijoki.

• Winnipeg, Canada is located at the confluence of the Red River, and the Assiniboine River. The area is referred to as The Forks by locals, and has been an important trade location for over 6000 years.

• Triangle of Three Emperors, former tripoint in Europe.

• Cairo, Illinois in the USA where the Ohio river flows into the Mississippi River.

• St. Louis, Missouri is built just south of the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Missouri River.

• The confluence between the Franklin River and Gordon River in south-western Tasmania

Integer latitudes and longitudes

Confluence also describes a location where integer latitude and integer longitude lines cross. The point in extreme northeastern New Jersey at is such a confluence point. The Degree Confluence Project endeavors to catalog and photograph all such points on the globe.

See also

• Mouth (water stream)

• Aber and Inver as place-name elements

• Sangam at Allahabad