From there, the river flows eastward through the Mahakam lakes region, which is a flat tropical lowland area surrounded by peat land. Thirty shallow lakes are situated in this area, which are connected to the Mahakam through small channels . Downstream of the connection with the Semayang and Melintang lakes, the Mahakam meets three other main tributaries - the rivers Belayan, Kedang Kepala, and Kedang Rantau - and flows south-eastwards through the Mahakam delta distributaries, to the Makassar Strait.