This paper presents an optimum user-steered boundary tracking approach for image segmentation, which simulates the behavior of water flowing through a riverbed. The riverbed approach was devised using the image foresting transform with a never-exploited connectivity function. We analyze its properties in the derived image graphs and discuss its theoretical relation with other popular methods such as live wire and graph cuts. Several experiments show that riverbed can significantly reduce the number of user interactions (anchor points), as compared to live wire for objects with complex shapes. This paper also includes a discussion about how to combine different methods in order to take advantage of their complementary strengths.21630423052Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientiacuteConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)