Cities at Confluences Rivers are often important routes for trade. Because of this, many major towns have been built at confluences where two (or even three) rivers meet . This is especially true in the USA, where rivers were the most important early trade routes for the European settlers.

Coblenz (Germany) This beautiful German city was founded by the Romans in 8BC - it is more than 2000 years old. Its name comes from its position where the Rhine and Moselle Rivers meet - the Romans named it Confluentes, meaning 'at the merging of rivers' (which is where the word 'confluence' comes from). The city's name changed over the years from Confluentes to Covelenz, then to Cobelenz, and finally to Coblenz. The confluence at Coblenz, Germany Map of the Coblenz confluence

Meeting of the Waters (near Manaus, Brazil) The Meeting of the Waters is the confluence between the Amazon and the Rio Negro. The Rio Negro has very dark water, while the Amazon is sandy-coloured, and for 6 km after they meet the waters run side by side without mixing. This attracts many tourists. The rivers take a long time to mix because their water has a different temperature, speed and density. The Meeting of the Waters - the water from the two rivers takes 6 km to mix Tourist boats at the Meeting of the Waters

Other confluences The Green River meets the Colorado River (USA) The Milk River meets the Missouri (USA)

Sources: Wikipedia GoogleMaps