Creeks, streams & rivers

Posted by Al on December 05, 2003

In Reply to: Creeks, streams & rivers posted by R. Berg on December 05, 2003

: : : What's the difference between a creek and a stream. Apart from the fact that in Australia we tend more to creeks than streams, which I've always assumed was just a terminology thing.

: : : And who decides when a creek becomes a river? In northern NSW & Qld, some of the creeks are huge, way bigger than most rivers down south. So what denotes a river over a creek?

: : In the US, if memory serves, a length of moving water officially becomes a river when it reaches 100 miles.

: : Creeks, streams -- and more names for less-than-rivers, too. Becks...runs (as in Bull Run, Virginia)...branches...kills (this in New York State, e.g., Catskills)...burns (that sounds Scots)...rills. But the difference between them? Er, local nomenclature?

: In U.S. usage, streams include creeks (small) and rivers (large).

>"..who decides.." In the US the USGS may do all the official naming. However there is some bureaucratic mechanism whereby anyone can pick anything not previously named but which shows up on a USGS map and submit a name for it. So if one can find a waterway on USGS map that is not already named you may submit "PhraseFinder Creek" and it may be accepted.

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