Editing River source (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Rhumequelle Rhumspringe.jpg|thumb|[[Rhume Spring]] is the source of the [[Rhume]] river.]]
Sometimes the source of the most remote tributary may be in an area that is more [[marsh]]-like, in which the "uppermost" or most remote section of the marsh would be the true source.  For example, the source of the [[River Tees]] is [[marsh]]land.

The furthest stream is also often called the head stream. Headwaters are often small streams with cool waters because of shade and recently melted ice or snow.  They may also be glacial headwaters, waters formed by the melting of [[Glacier|glacial]] [[ice]].

Headwater areas are the upstream areas of a [[drainage basin|watershed]], as opposed to the outflow or discharge of a watershed.   The river source is often but not always on or quite near the edge of the watershed, or watershed divide. For example, the source of the [[Colorado River]] is at the [[Continental Divide]] separating the [[Atlantic Ocean]] and [[Pacific Ocean]] watersheds of [[North America]].

===Example===
A river is considered a linear geographic feature, with only one mouth and one source.
For an example, the [[Mississippi River]] and [[Missouri River]] sources are officially defined as follows:
*{{cite web | title = Largest Rivers in the United States | publisher = [[United States Geological Survey]] | url = http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1987/ofr87-242/ }}
*{{Gnis|1629903|Mississippi River}}, Length: {{convert|2340|mi|km}}, Source: {{Coord|47|14|22|N|95|12|29|W|region:US_type:river_source:GNIS}}
*{{Gnis|756398|Missouri River}}, Length: {{convert|2540|mi|km}}, Source: {{Coord|45|55|39|N|111|30|29|W|region:US_type:river_source:GNIS}}