Table 1.
Comparison of stranding parameters for marine whales in river systems
| Cetacean species | River | River gradient (cm/km) | River depth (m) | Stranding inland (km) | Elevation (m) | Source |
| H. ampullatus | Thames, United Kingdom | 2.9 | 2–11 | 70 | 2 | — |
| M. novaeangliae | Sacramento, United States | 3.0 | ∼10 | 133 | 4 | 13 |
| O. orca | Columbia, United States | 3.7 | >10 | 161 | 6 | 13 |
| Balaenoptera acutorostrata | Tapajós-Amazon, Brazil | 0.1 | 10–30 | 1,000 | 1 | 14 |
| S. fluvatilis | Amazon, Peru | 2.8 | 10–30 | 3,600 | 100 | 15 |
| Turkana ziphiid | Anza River, Kenya | 4? | Unknown | 600–900 | 24–37 | This study |
Elevation of 24–37 m for the Turkana whale is arbitrary and exceeds the elevation of other marine whales stranded in rivers. The river dolphin S. fluvatilis is included for comparison and shows its distance from the coast at 100-m elevation, although its total elevation range extends to 300 m.