4.6 Rivers Flashcards
River
Flowing load of water going towards sea level.
Alluvial
Alluvial means deposited by running water.
Banks
Banks are the sides of a river or stream between which the water normally flows.
Bed
The bed (also called the river bed) is the bottom of the river (or other body of water).
Brackish
Beackish water is water that is saltier than river water but less salty than sea water.
Channel
A channel is an area that contains flowing water confined by banks.
Delta
A delta is a large, silty area at the mouth of a river at which the river splits into many different slow-flowing channels that have muddy banks. New land is created at deltas. Deltas are often triangular-shaped, hence the name (the Greek letter ‘delta’ is shaped like a triangle).
Effluent
Effluent is wastewater (like sewage water or factory runoff) that flows from a factory or other facility.
Estuary
An estuary is the area where a river meets the sea or ocean, where fresh water from the river meets salt water from the sea.
Headwater
Headwaters are streams and rivers (tributaries) that are the source of a stream or river.
Meander
Something that meanders follows a winding path.
Mouth
The mouth is the end of a river, where it empties into a large body of water.
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a stagnant lake that is formed alongside a winding river when the river changes path because of soil erosion, leaving an abandoned stream channel, cut off from the rest of the river.
River
A river is a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean.
Tributary
A tributary is a river or stream that flows into another stream, river, or lake.
