The Mississippi River is a tenth order stream, one of the highest order streams on earth. As more and more tributaries join together a larger stream network is formed and the master stream, the highest order stream in the system has a discharge that is the sum of all the tributary discharges.

Drainage patterns are classified on the basis of their form and texture. Read on to learn some common types of drainage patterns, such as: dendritic, deranged, centripetal and trellised.

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A River and a Stream are both fast moving bodies of water, but a river is called a River because it is larger, deeper, and longer than a stream, as for a stream it is much than a river not as deep, some you can even walk across. Another difference is that a stream is a small flowing water.

A stream bed or streambed is the channel bottom of a stream or river, the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins are known as the stream banks or river banks, during all but flood stage. Under certain conditions a river can branch from one stream bed to multiple stream beds.

A healthy stream will have a lot of obstacles in its channel—such as rocks and fallen logs. In short, a healthy stream will not simply carry water downslope at high speeds, but promote a slow, meandering movement of water that rejuvenates it. It may look inefficient, but it will be a healthy ecosystem.

A healthy stream sustains populations of native plants and animals with high water quality, natural flows, and the support of a well-vegetated riparian zone.

Determining whether your creek is healthy

• Riparian vegetation.
• Stream temperature.
• Water color.
• Algae growth.
• Foam.
• Riffles, runs and pools.
• pH level.

Healthy streams are characterized by habitat diversity, channels that meander, flow apart and come back together, and an abundance of logs, boulders, pools, and undercut banks.

It’s not just the numbers of insects that matter, but also the types. Tougher species, like blackflies or midges, can tolerate unhealthy stream conditions. But others, like mayflies, are much pickier. They cannot survive in polluted, high-energy streams that eat away at the banks.

Settling sediment means that river water tends to clear as it flows downstream, but this is not always a good thing. Immediately below the dam, the water was the blue-grey colour associated with the glacial lakes, but a kilometre or so farther downstream it was clear. …

What to do?

1. Fill a small jar or pill bottle to the top with water from your creek.
2. Test the waters pH with litmus paper.
3. Pour in one capful of peroxide.
4. Let the red flocculates settle.
5. Test the water again for its pH.
6. Repeat the experiment with water placed in a refrigerator for one hour.