A tributary smaller body of water that flows like a creek or river but it flows directly into a larger flowing body of water. Tributaries can be helpful if you are lost while kayaking down a small stream. If it is a known tributary, you should continue to travel to find the main river because this part of the river would eventually flow into it.
Distributary is the opposite of tributary because this part of the river flows out of the main river. In the United States, the biggest river is the Mississippi River which has tributaries that flow into it including the Missouri River and the Ohio River. Even though these rivers are quite large, they are still considered tributaries because they are smaller than the Mississippi River and flows into this larger river.
