The Angelina River (containing Sam Rayburn Reservoir) is a major tributary with its confluence at the north of Lake B.

Tributaries to the south include Village Creek and Pine Island Bayou, draining much of the Big Thicket region, both joining the Neches a few miles north of Beaumont.

It is believed that the name of the river was derived from the Caddo word "Nachawi", meaning "wood of the bow", after Spanish settlers called it Río Neches.

[6] The Angelina Neches/Dam B Wildlife Management Area is situated at the confluence of the Neches and Angelina Rivers protecting 12,636 acres of the river's floodplain and bottomland, administered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department along with the adjacent Martin Dies Jr. State Park on the eastern side of Lake B.

The lower forty miles of the river is industrialized, from the Beaumont Interstate 10 bridge to Sabine Lake.

The river is maintained as a deep water ship channel running between the Port of Beaumont to Sabine Lake.