# Backwater (river)

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{{Short description|River section with little or no current}}
A '''backwater''' is a part of a [river](/source/river) in which there is little or no current. It can refer to a branch of a main river, which lies alongside it and then rejoins it, or to a body of water in a main river, backed up by the sea [tide](/source/tide) or by an obstruction such as a [dam](/source/dam).<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/backwater Merriam Webster Dictionary]</ref> Manmade restrictions to natural stream flow or temporary natural obstructions such as [ice jam](/source/ice_jam)s, vegetation blockage, or flooding of a lower stream can create backwater.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/1541a/report.pdf#page=8 |title=General Introduction and Hydrologic Definitions, Manual of Hydrology: Part 1. General Surface-Water Techniques |last1=Langbein |first=W. B. |last2=Iseri|first2=Kathleen T. |date=1960 |website=pubs.usgs.gov |series=Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1542-F |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |access-date=February 10, 2019}}</ref>

== Alternative channel ==
[[File:Alappuzha Boat Beauty W.jpg|thumb|A [Kerala](/source/Kerala) houseboat in [Kumarakom](/source/Kumarakom), [India](/source/India)]]
If a river has developed one or more alternative courses in its evolution, one channel is usually designated the main course, and secondary channels may be termed backwaters.<ref>[http://www.wargrave.net/history/nov03.html Wargrave Local History Society Latest News - November 2003 Hennerton and the Backwater] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724125729/http://www.wargrave.net/history/nov03.html |date=2011-07-24 }}</ref> The main river course will usually have the fastest stream and will likely be the main navigation route; backwaters may be shallower and flow more slowly, if at all. Some backwaters are rich in [mangrove forest](/source/mangrove_forest).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://travel.manoramaonline.com/travel/getting-about-kerala/thrissur/2018/07/31/chettuva-in-thrissur-flaunting-kerala-mangrove-forest.html|title=Chettuva in Thrissur: Flaunting Kerala's biggest mangrove forest|work=OnManorama|access-date=2018-08-28}}</ref> This results in a more diverse environment of scientific interest and worthy of preservation.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ivb.cz/fish/pdf/pj57%20restoration.pdf |title=E. HOHAUSOVÁ, P. JURAJDA ''Restoration of a river backwater and its influence on fish assemblage'' Czech J. Anim. Sci., 50, 2005 (10): 473–482 |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705121847/http://www.ivb.cz/fish/pdf/pj57%20restoration.pdf |archive-date=2017-07-05 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.istc.illinois.edu/special_projects/il_river/backwtr_restoration_marlin.pdf |title=John C. Marlin ''BACKWATER RESTORATION OPPORTUNITIES: ILLINOIS RIVER'' Waste Management and Research Center, Illinois Department of Natural Resources One |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211352/http://www.istc.illinois.edu/special_projects/il_river/backwtr_restoration_marlin.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Backwaters also provide opportunities for leisure activities such as canoeing and fishing.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.visitthames.co.uk/text/1611/free_family_fun.html |title=Vistt Thames Free Family Fun |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-date=2012-01-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125230932/http://visitthames.co.uk/text/1611/free_family_fun.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.canoefocus.demon.co.uk/accesscliveden.html |title=Suggested paddles Cliveden Reach on the Thames |access-date=2010-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723192158/http://www.canoefocus.demon.co.uk/accesscliveden.html |archive-date=2010-07-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 
 
The term has been applied as a [metaphor](/source/metaphor) to physical and social areas that have been bypassed. It may apply to places that have been neglected in economic development,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7YUDP-H3R4AC&q=backwater The Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain]</ref> or in the expression a "cultural backwater".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB102098548645519960|title=A Cultural Backwater No Longer|last=Yee|first=Amy|date=2002-05-10|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2018-10-07|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

==Water backed up by an obstruction==
[[Image:KumarakomHouseBoat.jpg|thumbnail|right|[Kumarakom](/source/Kumarakom) lake in [Kerala backwaters](/source/Kerala_backwaters)]]
When a section of a river is near the coast or another feature that sets its [base level](/source/base_level), the section influenced by the conditions at its [mouth](/source/mouth_(river)) is termed a backwater. If a river flows into a lake or sea, it is the region in which the slope of the river decreases because the lower water [flux](/source/flux) permitted at the mouth causes the water to back up. Where the river outlet is strongly affected by [tides](/source/tides), the cyclic change in base level changes the portion of the river that is a backwater. As a result, fresh and salt water may become mixed to form an [estuarine](/source/estuary) environment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/earth-atmospheric-and-planetary-sciences/12-090-special-topics-an-introduction-to-fluid-motions-sediment-transport-and-current-generated-sedimentary-structures-fall-2006/lecture-notes/ch5.pdf|title=Chapter 5: Open-Channel Flow|last=Southard|first=John B.|year=2006|work=An Introduction to Fluid Motions, Sediment Transport, and Current-generated Sedimentary Structures|publisher=[MIT OpenCourseWare](/source/MIT_OpenCourseWare)|access-date=16 March 2010}}</ref>

==See also==
*[Distributary](/source/Distributary)
*[Lagoon](/source/Lagoon)
*[Kerala backwaters](/source/Kerala_backwaters)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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Category:Rivers

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Backwater (river)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backwater_(river)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backwater_(river)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.