GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A tributary is a freshwater stream that feeds into a larger stream or river. The larger, or parent, river is called the mainstem. The point where a tributary meets the mainstem is called the confluence. Tributaries, also called affluents, do not flow directly into the ocean.

Detailed explanation-2: -A tributary is a river or stream that enters a larger body of water, especially a lake or river. The receiving water into which a tributary feeds is called the “mainstem, ” and the point where they come together is referred to as the “confluence.”

Detailed explanation-3: -A tributary can be a tiny stream, but some are immense rivers. The Missouri River, for example, could be called a tributary to the Mississippi, even though it’s about 2, 500 miles long and receives hundreds of tributaries itself.

Detailed explanation-4: -"Right tributary", or “right-bank tributary", and “left tributary", or “left-bank tributary", are terms stating the orientation of the tributary relative to the flow of the main stem river. These terms are defined from the perspective of looking downstream (in the direction the water current of the main stem is going).

Detailed explanation-5: -The difference between a Tributary and a Distributary is that a Tributary flow towards the main river, while a Distributary flows away from the parent water body. While tributaries are streams or rivers that flow towards a river, lake, or creek, their opposite rivers flow away from a river or stream.