The Frigid River Branch and Northern River are used interchangably to describe this Eastlands river. Downstream from the Aragain Falls, the Frigid River curves southwest to makes its journey to the Great Sea. It is shortly downstream from the start of this bend where the Frigid River Branch breaks off from the flow of the Frigid River to make a general southern passage through the Desert River Province. Just south of the split, the Flood Control Dam #7 impedes the river's flow. After tumbling over the dam, the river passes by the Frigid River Branch Conservatory on its eastern shore and flows into the Valley of the Sparrows.
At some point between Flood Control Dam #3 and its emergence into sunlight just before the Aragain Falls, the completely underground Frozen River diverts from the Frigid River and continues south. The Frozen River parallels the Frigid River, but instead of curving westward with the main flow, it continues southward to form an almost completely subterranean parallel with the Northern River which is on the surface. These twin rivers flow through the Valley of the Sparrows, divide Shanbar (both the above ground village and its underworld counterpart), bend through the Raging Rapids and pour into the Great Misty Sea over a dangerous waterfall. Since the eastern shore of the Great Sea lies far underground, the Northern River falls into the Great Misty Sea at a point further south than the Frozen River. Near the above ground spillage, the clifftop Port of Tumper overlooks the Sea from its high vantage point.
North of both of these waterfalls, the rapids become so trecherous that boating is not possible, and usually fatal.
During the mid-seventeenth century GUE, due to Morphius' curse, the stretch of the Northern River running through the Valley of the Sparrows became infested with piranhas. The primary breeding pit for these accursed fish was known as the Piranha Run.
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