River Formations | How to Make Natural Rivers

To make natural-looking rivers in Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH), open your NookPhone and open the Island Designer app. Read on for a step-by-step guide to creating rivers, as well as some ideas you can try for your island.

How to Make Rivers

River Requirements

The game registers bodies of water created from the Island Designer app into either two kinds: Rivers and Ponds

Characteristics
River*	Pond*
• Connected to a Waterfall • Connected to an River Mouth • Long and thin	• Separated from other bodies of water • Wide and large

Elongated Waterways Become Rivers

So long as a a body of water has a portion that is thin and elongated, it will register as a river.

How to Make Shaped Ponds

How to Make a Natural Rivers

Winding Narrow Rivers

①	First, dig out a 3 column river. *Then, create an alternating pattern of 3 land squares on both sides.
②	Round off each of the corners.
③	**Fill in corners with 2 squares.
④	Round off the corners again.

*Be sure the leave 1 square at the top and bottom of the river.

**Make sure the corner does not connect to the 3 square pattern.

Diagonal Rivers

①	Dig out a straight and diagonal river.
②	Fill the side of the river with 3 squares as shown in the image.
③	Round off the tip of the 3 squares.
④	Create the same pattern from Step ② on the other side.
⑤	Round off the tip again.

ACNH River Design and Layout Inspo

Gander at just some of the possibilities for your island! Click on the images for a detailed overview of the layout.

Images are posted with the consent of the author.

Bamboo Path	Mini-Island	Landbridge
Waterfall Background	Lake View	River Fork
River Accents	Nature Corner	Centerpiece Statue
Branching Falls	Waterfall Loop
Signboard	Forked Waterfall

Bamboo Path ①

Island Name	Hakuho Island
Creator	@MNiithu

Connect your river to a waterfall for a more natural-looking landscape! You can also accent the area is bamboo trees and furniture for a tree-hugging vibe!

Mini-Island ②

Island Name	Sakai Island
Creator	@yuu_uu_sakai

Carve out some water around to create an island a scenic area. Sakai Island has theirs decorated with an industrial, wooden theme!

Landbridges ③

Island Name	Utsusemi Island
Creator	@Natoo_nebanebai

If your river is too short, you can use a custom design to make a bridge perfect for you!

Waterfall Background ④

Island Name	Utsusemi Island
Creator	@Natoo_nebanebai

Create cliffs, rivers, and waterfalls behind a villager's home to give the area a scenic feel. Utsusemi Island a heavily decorated pathing to a villager home with a stunning background!

Lake View ⑤

Island Name	Utsusemi Island
Creator	@Natoo_nebanebai

Though there technically aren't any lakes in Animal Crossing, you can make you own with the Waterscape Lisence! Try adding mini-island in your lake too for a 3-dimensional touch!

River Fork ⑥

Island Name	Kohaku Island
Creator	@occy__island

You can create a river fork that separates one larger river into two! Kohaku Island also adds a nice touch by including mini-islands you can hop on to cross the river.

River Accents ⑦

Island Name	Kohaku Island
Creator	@occy__island

Instead of river crossing through a path, you can build a path across a river! Kohaku Island accessorizes it with their own custom designed tiles!

Nature Corner ⑧

Island Name	Ocha Island
Creator	@inu_ocka611

Create your own little nook of nature with a suspension bridge and a small waterfall! Ocha takes this a step further with a mini-island with its own custom designed flooring.

Centerpiece Statue ⑨

Island Name	Ocha Island
Creator	@inu_ocka611

Use a statue to accent the area. Ocha Island perfectly makes use of the Valiant Statue to up the elegance of the island!

Branching Falls ⑩

Island Name	Ocha Island
Creator	@inu_ocka611

Ocha Island also splits its river into falls for some dramatic pathing. You'll surely be blown away making you're way through the area!

Waterfall Loop ⑪

Island Name	Makoi Island
Creator	@Denim2_mori

Short on space? Check out Makoi Island's clever way to create an illusion of a larger waterfall without taking up too much space!

Just loop the waterway around the cliff and cover-up the gaps of land with flowers!

Curved Rivers ⑫

Island Name	Makoi Island
Creator	@Denim2_mori

Makoi Island also curves out its rivers for more dynamic waterways, decorated, of course with the pine trees and holly shurbs for the full Fall effect!

Signboard ⑬

Island Name	Makoi Island
Creator	@Denim2_mori

Use the a signboard to accent an area of the island or tell visitors what's in store for them! Makoi Island has their campsite sign on its own island for the best visibility.

Forked Waterfall ⑭

Island Name	Makoi Island
Creator	@Denim2_mori

If you built your river on a cliff, try addings a fork to separate it into two waterways! Makoi Island even built a waterfall with one of the forks!

How to Waterscape

Made with Waterscaping Permit

The Waterscaping Permit is a necesarry tool to make rivers, ponds, and waterfall on your island.

If you don't have the Waterscaping Permit or the Island Designer yet, follow our guide in the link below!

Island Designer and Terraforming Unlock Walkthrough

Things to Note

①	Fish will only spawn on a minimum water area of 3x3 squares. List of All Pond Fish
②	Each island will have their own unique river mouths. Be sure to choose a layout you think has the best river mouths. How to Choose the Best Island Layout
③	Though you can't waterscape on the river mouth, you'll still be able to catch fish if you build land on the river's edge. List of All River Mouth Fish

How to Round Off Corners

◯ represents the area that can be rounded off.

①	You can round off the land perpendicular to two squares of water.
②	You won't be able to create a corner adjacent to the one just made.
③	Create a rounded off square by building land on the perpendicular space and digging it out again.
④	Filling up a square of water next to rounded off corners will also fill out those corners with land.

Related Guides

All Tips & Tricks

Reshape Your Island

Reshape Your Island
How Close Can You Plant Trees?	How to Chop Wood and Pull Up Trees
How to Get Palm Trees on Your Island	How to Get a Cherry Blossom Tree
Rock Guide	How to Plant Flowers
How to Build and Destroy Bridges	How to Build Slopes, Stairs and Inclines
How to Get More Housing Kits | Selling Plots of Land	How to Change the Island Tune
Terraforming Guide and Ideas	How to Create Paths
How to Make Shaped Ponds	How to Make Waterfalls
How to Keep Trees Small and Stop Tree Growth	All Building and Plot Sizes
Cliff Ideas | How to Make Good Looking Cliffs	How to Make Natural Rivers