Talk:Belize River

River length

The river length of 290 km mentioned in this article may not be accurate. Other sources like the Encyclopædia Britannica, mention a length of 290 km for the Mopan River _and_ the Belize River taken together. Assuming that Brittanica's figure is correct, and considering that the origin of the Belize River is formed by the confluence of the Mopan River and the Macal River, the length of the Belize River should probably range between 140 and 170 km. Arjuno (talk 03:21, 26 March 2009 (UTC)

I should correct myself with regard to what constitutes a river's "origin", which cannot be a confluence: " a river source is never a confluence but is "in a location that is the farthest, along water miles, from where that river ends." Thus, neither a lake (except in rare cases in which it has no inflows) nor a confluence of tributaries can by definition ever be a true river source, though both often provide the starting point for the portion of a river carrying a single name. " Source: Source_(river_or_stream). This means that the river's origin is formed by the sources of the Mopan river. The article should mention this, and preferably also indicate the length from the Mopan-Macal confluence to the mouth of the river, i.e. the stretch of the river called "Belize river". --Arjuno (talk 03:09, 31 March 2009 (UTC)