From the moment the connection between the Rhine and IJssel was dug, the Rhine became the largest contributor to the flow of the IJssel, although only a relatively small amount of the total Rhine flow makes its way into the IJssel system.
Various tributaries can sometimes add a considerable volume of water to the total flow of the IJssel, such as the Berkel and Schipbeek streams.
The IJssel river is the only branch of the Rhine delta that takes up tributary rivers rather than giving rise to distributaries.

Only in the last few miles of the river's run, near the city of Kampen, distributaries form, resulting in the relatively minor IJssel delta.
Some of the branches have been dammed up to lower the risk of flooding; others have silted up.
Several of the delta branches are, however, still connected without interruption.
Most of the damming-up was done prior to 1932, when the Zuiderzee was turned into the freshwater IJsselmeer lake.
The area had been prone to flooding in times of northwestern gales, pushing back the saline Zuiderzee water into the IJssel delta and preventing the water flowing from the mouths of the IJssel branches from discharging into the Zuiderzee.

The modern-day names of the delta branches are, west to east, Keteldiep, Kattendiep, Noorddiep, Ganzendiep and Goot.
Of these, the Keteldiep and Kattendiep channels are the main navigational arteries; the Noorddiep has been closed off at both sides.
Another branch, De Garste, had already completely silted up by the middle of the nineteenth century.
Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ganzendiep branch up to the Goot fork was known as IJssel proper.
due to it being the historical main channel, with the present-day main channel being called Regtediep or Rechterdiep until well into the twentieth century
The IJssel, although now technically "merely" a Rhine branch, has retained most of the character of a distinct river in its own right, in no small part due to the fact that it has its own tributaries and, in river Oude IJssel, even a former headstream.
From the moment the connection between the Rhine and IJssel was dug, the Rhine became the largest contributor to the flow of the IJssel, although only a relatively small amount of the total Rhine flow makes its way into the IJssel system. Various tributaries can sometimes add a considerable volume of water to the total flow of the IJssel, such as the Berkel and Schipbeek streams. The IJssel river is the only branch of the Rhine delta that takes up tributary rivers rather than giving rise to distributaries.
Only in the last few miles of the river's run, near the city of Kampen, distributaries form, resulting in the relatively minor IJssel delta. Some of the branches have been dammed up to lower the risk of flooding; others have silted up. Several of the delta branches are, however, still connected without interruption. Most of the damming-up was done prior to 1932, when the Zuiderzee was turned into the freshwater IJsselmeer lake. The area had been prone to flooding in times of northwestern gales, pushing back the saline Zuiderzee water into the IJssel delta and preventing the water flowing from the mouths of the IJssel branches from discharging into the Zuiderzee.
The modern-day names of the delta branches are, west to east, Keteldiep, Kattendiep, Noorddiep, Ganzendiep and Goot. Of these, the Keteldiep and Kattendiep channels are the main navigational arteries; the Noorddiep has been closed off at both sides. Another branch, De Garste, had already completely silted up by the middle of the nineteenth century. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the Ganzendiep branch up to the Goot fork was known as IJssel proper. due to it being the historical main channel, with the present-day main channel being called Regtediep or Rechterdiep until well into the twentieth century
The IJssel, although now technically "merely" a Rhine branch, has retained most of the character of a distinct river in its own right, in no small part due to the fact that it has its own tributaries and, in river Oude IJssel, even a former headstream.
IJssel