river (2), rivere

[Fr. rivière a river. The original meaning was a shore or bank, from Low Lat. riparia =(1) the seashore, a bank, (2) a river; prop. fem. of riparius riparian (q. v.); Sp. ribera ashore, a seacoast; Port. ribeira =a meadow near the bank of a river; ribeiro =a brook; Ital. riviera a sea-shore, a bank, a river.] IMG:content-0683.png:[blocks in formation] 1. Geog .: A large stream of water flowing over a certain portion of the earth's surface, and discharging itself into the sea, a lake, a marsh, or another river. A river is generally a stream of considerable size formed by the union of several brooks, streams, or rivulets. When several streams join, so as to produce a river of considerable size, this last is called the principal river and the minor rivers of which it is composed are called its tributaries, affluents, branches, or feeders. The district drained by such a system of streams or rivers is termed a river-basin (q. v.). Rivers generally have their sources in springs, or from the gradual melting of another; to strive to reach or gain something before the snow and ice which perpetually cover the sum 2. To strive to equal or surpa ; to emulate. "Awakes the rival'd nightingale." Thomson: Hymn on Solitude. *B. In trans.: To be a competitor or rival. "Burgundy, We first addre 'd tow'rd you, who with this king Have rival'd for our daughter." Shakesp.: Lear, i. 1. *ri-val-e , s. [English rival ; -e .] A female rival. "Oh, my happy rivale ."-Richardson: Pamela, iv. 153. *ri-văl-1-tý, s. [Fr. rival ité , from Lat. rival it a tem , acc us. of rival it as , from rival is rival (q. v.).] 1. The quality or state of being a rival; rivalry, emulation. 2. A ociation, equality, copartnership. "Cæsar, having made use of him in the wars, presently denied him rivality."-Shakesp.: Antony and Cleopatra, iii. 5. ri-valed, pa.par.ora. [RIVAL, 1.] mits of the most elevated ranges of mountains. The channel or cavity in which a river flows is called its bed, and the solid land which borders the bed is its banks. The termination of the course of a river, or where it discharges itself into the sea, another river, ., is called its mouth. The following table shows the length and area of some of the principal rivers: Mi i ippi, with Mi ouri. Nile..... Amazon Yang-tse-Kiang Yenesei. Volga... La Plata. Obi.... Danube. Length in Area of Basin. mites. Sq. mites. IMG:content-0684.png:[blocks in formation] Darwin ( Descent of Man , pt. i., ch. vi.) considered rivers as harbors of refuge for certain fishes, and as standing to the ocean in the same relation as islands do to continents. IMG:content-0685.png:[blocks in formation] river 2. Geol.: Rivers may in some cases be aided in hollowing out their beds by existing ravines and fi ures, in others their whole channel is scooped out by themselves. The most rapid movement of the water is at the surface, friction retarding the lower and lateral currents. A velocity of three inches per second at the bottom is sufficient to tear up fine clay, six inches per second fine sand, twelve inches per second fine gravel, and three feet per second stones as large as an egg. Hence the transporting power of a river is enormous, especially when in flood. The material carried forward is. deposited in the estuary at the mouth of the stream, and tends to form a delta (q.v.). Rivers have existed in all geological periods. 3. Law : Rivers are divided into navigable and non-navigable, the former being held to be public property, the latter the property of those through whose lands they flow. river-basin, s. [BASIN, 8., B. II. 2. ( b ).]