A tidal river is a river whose flow and level are caused by tides. A section of a larger river affected by the tides is a tidal reach, but it may sometimes be considered a tidal river if it had been given a separate and another title name.
Generally, tidal rivers are short rivers with relatively low discharge rates but high overall discharge, which generally implies a shallow river with a large coastal mouth. In some cases, high tides impound downstream flowing freshwater, reversing the flow and increasing the water level of the lower section of river, forming large estuaries. High tides can be noticed as far as 100 kilometres (62 mi) upstream. Oregon's Coquille River is one such stream for which that effect can be noticed.