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A riverboat is a specialized watercraft (vessel) designed for operating on inland waterways. While a ferryboat is often used to cross a river, a riverboat is used to traverse it, while carrying passengers and cargo, or both, for revenue. ("Riverboat casinos" are not considered here as they are essentially stationary).

Model of a shallow draft stern wheel riverboat, operated early 20th century - click for more information about this particular craft

Rivers present special hazards to vessels. They usually have varying water flows that alternately lead to high speed water flows or protruding rock hazards. Changing siltation patterns may cause the sudden appearance of shoal waters, and often floating or sunken logs and trees (called snags) can endanger the hulls and propulsion of riverboats. Riverboats are generally of shallow draft, being broad of beam and rather square in plan, with a low freeboard and high topsides. Riverboats can survive with this type of configuration as they do not have to survive the high winds or large waves that are seen on large lakes, seas or oceans. In most nations, riverboats are tourist attractions. In a few countries, such as China, riverboats provide authentic passenger and cargo transport — something a traveler (as opposed to a tourist) would consider for transport.

The riverine cargo carrying tasks once assigned to riverboats are now largely handled by barges, tied together, and pushed by a towboat.

Early riverboats in China on the Yangtze River were hauled upstream by crews of towmen pulling ropes. In the sheer canyons of the Three Gorges the towmen used paths carved into sheer cliffs or struggled through streambeds in places of low water.

The most famous early riverboats were on the rivers of the midwestern and central southern United States, on the Mississippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers in the early 19th century. It is these early steam driven river craft that typically come to mind when "steamboat" is mentioned, as these were powered by burning wood, with iron boilers drafted by a pair of tall smokestacks belching smoke and cinders, and twin double acting pistons driving a large paddlewheel at the stern churning foam. This type of propulsion was an advantage as a rear paddlewheel operates in an area clear of snags, is easily repaired, and is not likely to suffer damage in a grounding, while by burning wood, the boat could consume fuel provided by woodcutters along the shore of the river. These early boats would carry a brow (a short bridge) on the bow, so they could head in to an unimproved shore for transfer of cargo and passengers.

Modern riverboats are generally screw (propeller) driven, with pairs of diesel engines of several thousand horsepower.

Many of the riverboats shown below were operating on the Yangtze (Chang Jaing) river.

High speed boats such as those shown here had a special advantage in some operations in the free running Yangze. In several locations within the three gorges one way travel was enforced through fast narrows. While less maneuverable and deeper draft vessels were obliged to wait for clearance these high speed boats were free to zip past waiting traffic by running in the shallows.

High speed planing and hydrofoil riverboats

The transport craft shown below is used for short distance carriage of passengers between villages and small cities along the Yangtze, while Larger craft are used for low cost carriage over longer distance, without the fancy food or shows seen on the tourist riverboats. In some cases the traveller must provide their own food.

Smaller riverboats are used in urban and suburban areas for sightseeing and public transport. Sightseeing boats can be found in Amsterdam, Paris, and other touristic cities where historical monuments are located near water.

The concept of local waterborn public transport is known as Water taxi in English-speaking countries , vaporetto in Venice, water/river tramway in former Soviet Union and Poland (although sightseeing boats can be called water tramways too). Local waterborn public transport is similar to ferry.

Sightseeing boat in Amsterdam	River tramway Moskvitch in Moscow	New York Water Taxi	Vaporetto in Venice
Low cost transport in China

Multimodal and bulk cargo transport

Roads through this region are inadequate for heavy truck transport and roads along the river are extremely dangerous. As the major rivers are mostly east-west, most railroad transport is typically north-south.

Here, a drive/on drive/off ramp barge is used to transport trucks. In many cases the trucks transported are new and are being delivered to customers or dealers. Perhaps unique to China, the new trucks observed traveling upstream were all blue, while the new trucks traveling downstream were all white.

Low value goods are transported on rivers and canals worldwide, since slow speed barge traffic offers the lowest possible cost per ton mile and the capital cost per ton carried is also quite low compared to other modes of transport

SS Inlander on the Skeena River at Kitselas Canyon, 1911

Terrace, British Columbia, Canada, celebrates "Riverboat Days" each summer. The Skeena River passes through Terrace and played a crucial role during the age of the steamboat. The first steam-powered vessel to enter the Skeena was the Union in 1864. In 1866 the Mumford attempted to ascend the river but was only able to reach the Kitsumkalum River. It was not until 1891 that the Hudson's Bay Company sternwheeler the Caledonia successfully negotiated through the Kitselas Canyon and reached Hazelton. A number of other steamers were built around the turn of the century, in part due to the growing fish industry and the gold rush.^[1]

WT Preston, a museum ship that was once a specialized river dredge, also called a "snagboat."

A riverboat on the Willamette River

In some regions, such as northern Russia, the rivers freeze in winter. The riverboats stay in the "ice prison". The port of Kazan, late March.

• Barge
• Ferryboat
• Fireboat
• Hydrofoil
• McKenzie River dory
• Sampan
• Towboat
• Tugboat