Rivers and streams are very important to the ecosystem and provide homes for many animals and plants. Rivers and streams are found all over the world and are essential to the way many mammals live. According to Marrian-Webster, a river is a larger body of water that flows into another body of water (1). Streams are another type of flowing water but are smaller than a river (2). Rivers and streams can have different sources where the water comes from, but just like all that water was once precipitation. When a form of precipitation falls on the Earth's surface, several things can happen to that water molecule. The first situation is that the molecule evaporates back into the Earth's atmosphere where it rejoins the water cycle. The other two situations that can occur are those that trigger the formation of rivers and streams. Water can be absorbed into the ground and merge with groundwater or flow from the earth's surface into a river or stream. There are three different types of streams that convey water into rivers: ephemeral, intermittent and perennial ( ). Ephemeral are streams that carry water only after a precipitation event; intermittent streams are downstream of ephemerals and are streams that transport water during wet seasons ( ). The ephemeral and intermittent waters are not only made up of the runoff of the waters of the surrounding areas but are also fed by groundwater ( ). The last type of flow is called perennial. Perennial streams are downstream of both ephemeral and intermittent streams and consist of a stream that transports water all year round ( ). The water that forms a river most likely began as some type of precipitation that fell on the area surrounding... the center of the card... would have been affected by flood plains. Studying peak flows in a given area can help humans better predict the possibility of a flood. These predictions will help people determine how to protect communities from future flooding and also decide whether or not an area is a safe place to develop new communities. However, sediment is deposited by the river during floods. Floods provide the soil with a rich supply of nutrients from sediment, so areas around rivers with large floodplains are usually used for agriculture. Rivers and streams are essential for all life forms as they are part of the gigantic cycle of life. If a small river or stream disappears, everything will feel the impact. Humans need to start protecting available natural resources. As more and more water melts from glaciers, rivers and streams will continue to see more and more water in them.