In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. Sometimes, these places can be very unusual. The confluences below were selected for their dramatic visual contrast - you can see the boundaries, where the two (or three) differently colored rivers mix to form one larger river.
# Confluence of the Rhone and Arve Rivers, SwitzerlandThis is a place of confluence of the rivers Rhona and Arve in Geneva, Switzerland. Here is the Rhona in the left part of the picture (the river has its source from Lake Leman). And in the right part there is the Arve flowing from many glaciers in the Chamonix Valley, and then the river flows to the north-west, flowing into the Rhona at the eastern part of Geneva.The Arve has higher level of silt in its water than the Rhona has, and that is why we can see clearly the boundary between them.
# Confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz Rivers, GermanyPassau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is known as the Dreiflüssestadt or City of Three Rivers, because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. The Ilz is a relatively small mountain stream and has a blue-ish color, while the Inn is a fairly large river flowing in from Salzburg, Austria at the top. The Inn River has more water flow than the Danube, yet flowing away from the city the three combined rivers are called Danube. This photo is taken from the fortress (now a city museum) on top of the Ilzstadt cliff above the city.
# Confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers, IndiaThis is a place of junction of the rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi in Devprayag, India. Devprayag is a town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. This is one of the five places of the river Alaknanda junctions, and the place, where the river Ganges is “born” (these two rivers form the Ganges).The Alaknanda has its source from the bottom of Bhagirath Kharak and Satopanth Glaciers. The river Bhagirathi flows out of Gangotri Glacier. The Alaknanda contributes a significantly larger portion to the flow of the Ganges than the Bhagirathi.
# Confluence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers, GermanyMosel is darker and flows into the Rhine river. The name of the city - Koblenz - in Latin means confluence. From the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (118 meters above the Rhine) visitors have a spectacular view over the confluence of the Rhine and Mosel rivers.
# Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers, Utah, USAThe Green River, located in the western United States, is the chief tributary of the Colorado River. It is only slightly smaller than the Colorado when the two rivers merge, but typically carries a larger load of silt. The status of the Green River as a tributary of the Colorado River came about for mainly political reasons. In earlier nomenclature, the Colorado River began at its confluence with the Green River. Above the confluence the Colorado was called the Grand River.
# Confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers, CanadaThe Thompson River is the largest tributary of the Fraser River, flowing through the south-central portion of British Columbia, Canada. The Thompson River ends at Lytton where it meets the Fraser River. The contrast is striking as the clear Thompson River water joins with the muddy Fraser.