Where Do Hyrule's Rivers Go?

The Nugget

Hyrule's rivers flow into mysterious locations instead of the ocean, creating a complex hydrological system shaped by the game's landscape changes from "Breath of the Wild" to "Tears of the Kingdom." The rivers connect through lakes and caves, revealing unexpected outcomes about where the water actually ends up.

Make it stick

🌊 Rivers in Hyrule don't flow to the ocean. Instead, they disappear into lakes or underground systems.
🏞️ Caves introduced in "Tears of the Kingdom" connect water bodies that previously seemed isolated in "Breath of the Wild."
🌪️ Whirlpools and subterranean rivers complicate the landscape and hint at potential ecological disasters.
🚰 Bifurcations are rare and suggest human intervention in the river's paths, particularly around Hyrule Castle.

Hyrule's rivers appear disconnected but are actually part of a larger basin system.
Rivers end in various points, mainly Lake Halia and an unnamed lake in the Gudo Canyon, not the ocean.
The primary source for the river system is the East Reservoir Lake, with the Zora contributing significantly.

The transition from "Breath of the Wild" to "Tears of the Kingdom" introduces caves that facilitate underground rivers.
Water features like waterfalls and lakes are reimagined or newly introduced, indicating changes in water flow and availability.
Evidence suggests climate changes have potentially influenced the disappearance of certain water bodies between games.

The game features unique phenomena such as waterfalls that defy typical hydrology, with water often flowing only over edges rather than smoothly down slopes.
A large whirlpool near Lake Halia suggests a significant drainage issue that could lead to ecological collapse if left unchecked.
The Zora's domain exhibits highly irregular hydrological characteristics that blend both magic and engineering.

"Every river you’ve ever seen in this game might just dump itself into this weird dark shadowy Lake."
"It’s possible that this whole region is going to collapse and drain directly into the bay in the next few years."
"All of this water is just water and gravity; we call them rivers and lakes for ontological utility."
"A bifurcation is a point where a river splits off into two rivers that then both continue downstream."
"In terms of being physically connected, all of these islands with all their waterfalls are just completely separate."

This summary contains AI-generated information and may have important inaccuracies or omissions.