Article elements
Title
See also Wikipedia:Naming conventions (landforms).
- River articles may be named "X", "X River", or "River X", depending on location and most common usage.
- "River X" is used generally for notable rivers in the UK and Ireland, yet many other watercourses are, quite properly, locally and cartographically named "X Beck", "X Brook", "X Water", "X Race", "Afon X", "Nant X" e.g.Trout Beck in the Lake District and Nant Ceiswyn in Wales.
- "X river" and "X (river)" are not recommended.
Multiple rivers with the same name
Due to the fact that there are many rivers in the UK with the same name (e.g. there are at least four rivers in England called River Avon), the following method of disambiguation is proposed:
- The most important river can stay at the undisambiguated title, lesser known ones add a qualifier.
- In practice, most rivers needing disambiguation have been identified by the smallest appropriate political entity. So River Derwent becomes River Derwent, Yorkshire : River Derwent, Derbyshire : River Derwent, North East England & River Derwent, Cumbria.
- Most British rivers have used the River, place format for disambiguation rather than the River (parenthesis) format.
Rivers with multiple names
Occasionally, a river can have several genuinely distinct names. For example, the River Thames is called the River Isis beyond Oxford. The following rules are suggested for choosing a primary name for such a river:
- If the river is particularly famous under one name, then choose that name.
- If the section of the river that uses a particular name is much longer than other sections, then use that as the name.
- If everything else is equal, then choose the name for the section of the river closest to the river's mouth, since generally that is where the river is widest.
Infobox
| River Tees | |
|---|---|
 High Force on the River Tees | |
| Location | |
| Country | England |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Cross Fell |
| • elevation | 754 m (2,474 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | North Sea |
| Length | 132 km (82 mi) |
Basin size | 1,834 km2 (708 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | sd |
Use the template {{Infobox river}} for representative images and basic information about a river. The example at right shows how it looks. See the template's discussion page for instructions, examples, and blank versions of the template to start with.
Maps
- Regional location
- Course
Maps of the river's course and of its catchment area (drainage basin) are highly desirable.
- Catchment
- Features of the course
See Template:Waterways legend and Wikipedia:Route diagram template
Images
There should be at least one picture, preferably a typical view. Important rivers should have additional pictures illustrating their notable features.
Article text
Article text structure
*Lead Paragraph
The first paragraph should be a self-contained description including the most important things to know; name(s) - both historic and current - in bold, location (countries/counties/seaboards), and notable facts about the river, such as longest, second longest, main waterway of a country, etc.
*Toponomy
The origin and meaning of the name and of any alternate names.
*Catchment area overview
This section can include numerical data on length, volume, drainage basin, etc. Boundaries, management areas, landscape and land use.
*Course
The narrative description of the course should proceed from the source of main headwater of the river downstream to its mouth, noting direction, size, major tributaries, human settlements, waterfalls, dams, reservoirs, lakes, notable bridges, aqueducts and so forth. This should be at least a paragraph and may be several paragraphs for long rivers.
*Geology
Main aquifers. Sinkholes or potholes.
*Hydrometry
Measurements of: Water quality. Water flow. Abstraction.
*Economy
A number of rivers have been used as means to transport people, goods, etc., and are still used so today. All such information should be described here.
*Ecology and fisheries
Mention distinctive plants and animals associated with any part of the river. Designated conservation areas, nature reserves, etc.
*Recreation and amenity
Uses of the river for sport, leisure craft, etc.
*Navigation
Canals and canalisation
*Heritage
Any historical uses of the river and its waters. Famous associations. Water mills.
*Flooding and flood defences
*Conflicts of interest
These exist on many rivers. Issues concerning abstraction, pollution, leisure uses, nature reserves, flood barriers.
Lists of tributaries
- List the tributaries, unless already done using the geobox, starting from the mouth and going upstream. Add important subtributaries in sublists. Major tributaries should be links if with sufficient article content (see above), minor tributaries should be names and may have sections instead e.g.
- River Medway (shares the Thames estuary)
etc.
c.f. River Bourne, Addlestone, which provides sections for its stream tributaries which are not considered rivers
- List separately cities/towns only along with the river, also in upstream order.
- List dams, locks, waterfalls, rapids, if there are more than a couple and/or they're not mentioned in the lead or course narrative.
- Consider presenting the information instead in a diagram for longer rivers - e.g. River Thames
Indexing
Every river article should be indexed in list of rivers by name, and indexed in list of rivers by continent, along with its major tributaries.
See:
- List of rivers of England
- List of rivers of Ireland for rivers in Northern Ireland
- List of rivers of Scotland
- List of rivers of Wales
Categories
Every article should have a category. If a river is restricted to one country, list in Category:rivers of country. If it runs through several, list in each country category.
Talk page
On Wikipedia, the primary purpose of a talk page (also referred to as a /Talk page) is to improve the contents of the corresponding article, from an encyclopedic point of view. Questions, challenges, excised text (due to confusion or bias, for example), arguments relevant to changing the text, and commentary on the article are typically placed on the talk page.
To remind users of this insert {{talk header}}
References and External links
Preferably refer to history, ecology, public policy, books, websites, etc.
