{{Short description|Rivers of liquid methane and ethane on Saturn's moon Titan}} {{Infobox river | image = {{CSS image crop |Image = Cassini-OntarioLacus-RADAR.jpg |bSize = 480 |cWidth = 250 |cHeight = 250 |oTop = 110 |oLeft = 100 }} | image_caption = [[Synthetic aperture radar]] image from [[Cassini–Huygens|''Cassini'']] of Saraswati Flumen and its wave-modified delta draining into Ontario Lacus | name_etymology = From the [[Saraswati River]] from the Hindu [[Vedas]] | subdivision_type1 = Moon | subdivision_name1 = [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] | length = >360 km <ref name=PNAS/> | width_max = ~700 m <ref name=PNAS/> |source1 = Near the perimeter of [[Romo Planitia]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Birch |first1=Samuel P.D. |last2=Hayes |first2=Alexander Gerard |last3=Corlies |first3=Paul |last4=Stofan |first4=E.R. |last5=Hofgartner |first5=Jason D. |last6=Lopes |first6=R.M.C. |last7=Lorenz |first7=R.D. |last8=Lunine |first8=J.I. |last9=MacKenzie |first9=S.M. |last10=Malaska |first10=M.J. |last11=Wood |first11=C.A. |title=Morphological evidence that Titan’s southern hemisphere basins are paleoseas |journal=Icarus |date=December 2017|volume=310 |pages=140–148 |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2017.12.016}}</ref> | mouth = [[Ontario Lacus]] | discharge1_avg = 10–2,000 m<sup>3</sup>/s (estimated 2023) <ref name="PNAS">{{cite journal |last1=Birch |first1=Samuel P. D. |last2=Parker |first2=Gary |last3=Corlies |first3=Paul |last4=Soderblom |first4=Jason M. |last5=Miller |first5=Julia W. |last6=Palermo |first6=Rose V. |last7=Lora |first7=Juan M. |last8=Ashton |first8=Andrew D. |last9=Hayes |first9=Alexander G. |last10=Perron |first10=J. Taylor |title=Reconstructing river flows remotely on Earth, Titan, and Mars |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=18 July 2023 |volume=120 |issue=29 |article-number=e2206837120 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2206837120 |url=https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2206837120}}</ref> | custom_label = Discoverer | custom_data = ''[[Cassini–Huygens|Cassini]]'' }}
'''Saraswati Flumen''' is a [[Drainage system (geomorphology)|river system]] (termed ''[[Flumen (planetary geology)|Flumen]]'') of liquid [[methane]] and [[ethane]] on [[Saturn]]'s moon [[Titan (moon)|Titan]]. It flows for 360 km before discharging into [[Ontario Lacus]] near Titan's south pole in a [[river delta]] on the lake's western shore. Its [[Bank (geography)|bankfull discharge]] is estimated to be 40–50,000 m<sup>3</sup>/s but its regular flow is estimated to be 10–2,000 m<sup>3</sup>/s.<ref name=PNAS/> Compared to Karesos Flumen and Hubur Flumen, the two other major rivers that drain into the Ontario Lacus which both originate in mountains, the Saraswati Flumen has a much flatter gradient.<ref name = Icarus/> The Saraswati Flumen is unlike most rivers on Titan including the more well known [[Vid Flumina]] in that it has a river delta. Furthermore, its delta is double-lobed, suggesting that the river switched courses over tens to hundreds of thousands of years to build both lobes.<ref name=PNAS/> The main lobe is around 97 km<sup>2</sup> in area while the secondary lobe is around 50 km<sup>2</sup>.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wall |first1=Steve |last2=Hayes |first2=Alexander Gerard |last3=Bristow |first3=Charles S. |last4=Lorenz |first4=R. |last5=Stofan |first5=Ellen R. |last6=Lunine |first6=J. |last7=Le Gall |first7=A. |last8=Janssen |first8=M. A. |last9=Lopes |first9=Rosaly M. |last10=Wye |first10=Lauren |last11=Soderblom |first11=L. |last12=Paillou |first12=Philippe |last13=Aharonson |first13=Oded |last14=Zebker |first14=H. |last15=Farr |first15=Tom G. |last16=Mitri |first16=Guiseppe |last17=Kirk |first17=Rhona |last18=Mitchell |first18=Karl Leon |last19=Notarnicola |first19=C. |last20=Casarano |first20=D. |last21=Ventura |first21=B. |title=Active shoreline of Ontario Lacus, Titan: A morphological study of the lake and its surroundings |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |date=March 2010 |volume=37 |issue=5 |doi=10.1029/2009GL041821 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42635374_Active_shoreline_of_Ontario_Lacus_Titan_A_morphological_study_of_the_lake_and_its_surroundings}}</ref> It is hypothesized to be a [[suspended load]]-dominated river.<ref name=PNAS/>
[[File:Titan oxbow lake.gif|thumb|363px|A possible [[oxbow lake]] on the Saraswati Flumen<ref name=Icarus>{{Cite journal|last1=Dhingra|first1=Rajani D.|last2=Barnes|first2=Jason W.|last3=Yanites|first3=Brian J.|last4=Kirk|first4=Randolph L.|date=2018-01-01|title=Large catchment area recharges Titan's Ontario Lacus|journal=Icarus|language=en|volume=299|pages=331–338|doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2017.08.009|bibcode=2018Icar..299..331D|issn=0019-1035}}</ref>]]
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Titan}}
[[Category:Surface features of Titan (moon)]]
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