Animal Crossing New Horizons: What Counts as a Clifftop River?

There are a variety of different habitats that creatures can spawn in on your Animal Crossing New Horizons island. One such habitat is the clifftop river, home to a handful of rare fish. If you wish to catch all of the fish in the game you'll need to be able to identify a clifftop river from other bodies of water. In this guide we'll detail exactly how to spot one, and also whether ponds can count as clifftop rivers.

On this page:

• What Counts as a Clifftop River in Animal Crossing New Horizons?
• Do Clifftop Ponds Count as Clifftop Rivers?

What Counts as a Clifftop River in Animal Crossing New Horizons?

A clifftop river is any river that is at any level above ground level. This can be on a first level or second level cliff. A river is a body of water that either leads out to sea, or leads to or from a waterfall. We've included an image of a clifftop river below, but as long as it satisfies these conditions it will count. If you'd like to make a new clifftop river, you'll need to use the Island Designer app, more info here.

Do Clifftop Ponds Count as Clifftop Rivers?

One peculiarity to consider when looking for clifftop rivers is that some ponds can actually count as well. If a pond is on the 3rd level of your island (or second cliff level), it will be considered a clifftop river. We have been able to confirm this, as we caught a Golden Trout in a pond at the highest level of our island. You can read more about catching a Golden Trout here. Be aware that a pond on the second level of your island will just be considered a pond, not a river.

That's all you need to know about clifftop rivers. For more on Animal Crossing New Horizons be sure to read Caty's thoughts on the game one month after launch. Elsewhere, there's Hirun's writeup of the player that turned their island into Hyrule.