Chap 10 Flashcards
Drainage basin
total area drained by a stream and its tributaries
Divide
A ridge separating adjacent drainage basins
Continental Divide
A divide separating streamins flowing into different ocean or sea
Dendritic Drainage pattern (dp)
resembles tree branches or veins in a leave
Radial (dp)
A number of streams originate on a mountain and flow outward
Rectangular
Tribuatries join one another at right angles
Trellis
Parallel main streams with short tributaries at right angles
Stream Velocity
Distance time
Stream gradient
Vertical drop/horizontal distance
Stream discharge
Volume of water that flows past a given point i a unit of time
Sediment is eroded by
Hydraulic action
Solution
Abrasion
Bed load
Particles are transported on or directley above the stream bed
a traction
b saltation
Suspended load
Particles light enough to remain lifted above the bottom by water turbulence
Dissolved load
Ions from chemical weathering, that are carried in solution by a stream.
Braided Streams
Interconnected channels and mid channel bars
Meander
A pronounced sinuous curves along a streams course
Flood plains
Flat land on either side of stream channel
Deltas
Form where streams flow into a standing body of water
Alluvial fan
Formed where a stream slows down rapidly from canyon to flat plain
Downcutting
the process of deepening a valley by erosion of stream bed
Base Level:
The limit of downcutting (limit that a river bed can be eroded)
Ultimate base level
Sea level
Stream terraces
step like landforms found above a stream and its floodplain, can be caused by rapid uplift drops in base level or climate changes
Graded stream
A balance between transporting capacity and the sediment supply is achieved
Streams that receive and carry away equal amounts of sediment.
