Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-102
§931 Navigable Rivers as Public Highways
Title 43 › CHAPTER 22 — RIGHTS-OF-WAY AND OTHER EASEMENTS IN PUBLIC LANDS › § 931
Summary
Navigable rivers on public lands stay public; streams and their beds between opposite‑bank owners are shared by both.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §931
Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
All navigable rivers, within the territory occupied by the public lands, shall remain and be deemed public highways; and, in all cases where the opposite banks of any streams not navigable belong to different persons, the stream and the bed thereof shall become common to both.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification R.S. § 2476 derived from acts May 18, 1796, ch. 29, § 9, 1 Stat. 468; Mar. 3, 1803, ch. 27, § 17, 2 Stat. 235.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 931
Title 43, Public Lands
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102