Distributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary, which flows "towards" and joins another stream. Distributaries are often found where a stream approaches a lake or an ocean. They can also occur inland, on alluvial fans, or where a tributary stream bifurcates as it nears its confluence with a larger stream. In some cases, a minor distributary can divert so much water from the  main channel that it can later become the main route. Related terms. Common terms to name individual river distributaries in English-speaking countries are "arm" and "channel". These terms may refer to a distributary that does not rejoin the channel from which it has branched (e.g., the North, Middle, and South Arms of the Fraser River, or the West Channel of the Mackenzie River), or to one that does (e.g. Annacis Channel and Annieville Channel of the Fraser River, separated by Annacis Island). In Australia, the term "anabranch" is used to refer to a distributary that diverts from the main  course of the river and rejoins it later. In North America an anabranching river is called a "braided stream". North America. In Louisiana, the Atchafalaya River is an important distributary of the Mississippi River. Because the Atchafalaya takes a steeper route to the Gulf of Mexico than does the Mississippi, over several decades the Atchafalaya has captured more and more of the Mississippi's flow, after the Mississippi meandered into the Red River of the South. The Old River Control Structure, a dam which regulates the outflow from the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya, was completed by the Army Corps of  Engineers in 1963. The dam is intended to prevent the Atchafalaya from capturing the main flow of the Mississippi and stranding the ports of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. In British Columbia, Canada, the Fraser River has numerous sloughs and side-channels which may be defined as distributaries. This river's final stretch has three main distributaries: the North Arm and the South Arm, and a few smaller ones adjoining them. Examples of inland distributaries: South America. The Casiquiare canal is an inland distributary of the upper Orinoco, which flows southward into the Rio Negro, forming a unique natural canal  between the Orinoco and Amazon river systems. It is the largest river on the planet that links two major river systems. Asia. Eastern Asia. The Huai River in China splits into three streams. The main stream passes through the Sanhe Sluice, goes out of the Sanhe river, and enters the Yangtze River through Baoying Lake and Gaoyou Lake. On the east bank of Hongze Lake, another stream goes out of Gaoliangjian Gate and enters the Yellow Sea at the port of Bidan through Subei Guan'gai Zongqu, the main irrigation channel of Northern Jiangsu); its total length is 168 kilometers. The  third stream leaves the Erhe lock on the northeast bank of Hongze Lake, passes the Huaishuhe River to the north of Lianyungang city, and flows into Haizhou Bay through the Hongkou. Oceania. Australia. A number of the rivers that flow inland from Australia's Great Dividing Range form distributaries, most of which flow only intermittently during times of high river levels and end in shallow lakes or simply peter out in the deserts. Yarriambiack Creek, which flows from the Wimmera River into Lake Coorong, and Tyrrell Creek, which flows from the Avoca River into Lake Tyrrell, are two distributaries in  Victoria. The Narran River flows from the Balonne River in Queensland into Narran Lake in New South Wales. Papua New Guinea. Many of Papua New Guinea's major rivers flow into the Gulf of Papua through marshy, low-lying country, allowing for wide, many-branched deltas. These include the Fly River, which splits into three major and several minor rivers close to its mouth. The Bamu River splits into several channels close to its mouth, among them the "Bebea", "Bina", "Dibiri", and "Aramia". The Kikori River also splits into a multitude of channels as it crosses the plains close to  the Gulf of Papua. The Purari River splits into three major channels as it approaches its mouth. New Zealand. New Zealand's second-longest river, the Clutha River, splits into two arms, the "Matau" and the "Koua", some 10 kilometres from the South Island's Pacific Coast. A large island, Inch Clutha, lies between the two arms. Many of the rivers crossing the Canterbury Plains in the central South Island are braided rivers, and several of these split into separate branches before reaching the coast. Notable among these is the Rangitata River, the two arms of which are separated by  the low-lying Rangitata Island.