An alternative opinion is recorded in a publication published in The Yorkshire Post in a series dated 1891, written and illustrated by Tom Bradley.

The Ouse's system of tributaries includes the Derwent, Aire, Don, Hipper, Wharfe, Rother, Nidd, Swale, Ure and Foss.

The Ouse valley is a wide, flat plain; heavy rainfall higher in the river's drainage basin can bring severe flooding to settlements.

[4] Alternatively, 'Isaf' and 'Ychaf' are common form of place names in modern Welsh (Romano Britonic's successor) meaning 'upper' and 'lower'.

[8][9] Above York there is another weir with locks at Linton-on-Ouse, which allows boats of 66 feet (20 m) length to proceed to the River Ure Navigation.

[11] The navigation authority is Associated British Ports from Trent Falls to Goole railway swing bridge at Skelton, and the Canal & River Trust upstream from there.

[10] In the 18th and 19th centuries, there was considerable commercial traffic on the river, mainly from Selby, which then had a custom house, downstream.

[18] Low-lying land around the villages of Kelfield, Riccall, Wistow and Cawood, which are south of York, are designated as a floodplain, though it can cause damage to properties there.

In February 2020, it was estimated that over 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of fields were under floodwater, making the size comparable to that of Windermere, England's largest natural lake.