Do they exist or are there only small streams and rivers?

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Musha rig um du rum da

I'd say so, but it depends where you set the boundaries for me streams have to have boulders sticking out above the surface quite often, and plenty of shallow, white water. For me the water of leith in edinburgh would be a good example of a large stream, up and around balerno

Col, any stream will do; as long as it's not XL, (extra large) XD (extra deep) or XW (extra wide) then it's a Stream of small running water proportions!

A Small Stream!

M

I Thought (But may be wrong) that a River had to flow into the Sea or Lake and smaller tributaries that feed into a River rather than the sea or Lake are know as a stream or Brook or beck ect. But then again there are some very large rivers that feed into larger rivers and I can`t imagine them being described as a Large Stream.

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Allan
Only dead fish go with the flow.

In the States there's a threshold for width, above which a watercourse can no longer be classified as a stream. I think it's 50 or 60 feet, but it's been a while since my hydrology class at uni.

And what about small rivers?

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mmmm So what about brooks and becks ....

Seriousley I think the smallest would be a beck or brook, I dont know why but I have always called upland stony small watercourses becks and lowland ones brooks. By small I mean in places you can jump across it or wade it in wellies . I would consider a stream as been a watercourse thats wadeable in chesties and has a number of becks and brooks flowing into it and its a river if there are places you have to swim...

But saying that some of the water classed as rivers on the OS are smaller than some of the becks..So I guess I dont have a clue...

We have burns and rivers up here in Jockland.
Some of our larger burns or smaller rivers are called waters.
ie Luggie water, Glazert water, water of leith.
All a bit mixed up

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"A stream is a flowing body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, kill, lick, rill, river syke, bayou, rivulet, or run. In some countries or communities a stream may be defined by its size. In the United States a stream is classified as a watercourse less than 60 feet (18 metres) wide. Streams are important as conduits in the water cycle, instruments in groundwater recharge, and they serve as corridors for fish and wildlife migration. The biological habitat in the immediate vicinity of a stream is called a riparian zone. Given the status of the ongoing Holocene extinction, streams play an important corridor role in connecting fragmented habitats and thus in conserving biodiversity. The study of streams and waterways in general is known as surface hydrology and is a core element of environmental geography.[1]"

That aside, I was surprised to find the number of definitions/terms that included the word 'stream.' stream: Definition, Synonyms from Answers.com

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