Chapter 8 Flashcards
Watershed
Is the line dividing a river from another.
Tributaries
Are smaller rivers on the normal one.
Confluence
Is where the tributaries meet the river.
Estuary
Is the mouth of the river.
Delta
Is land the forms the river mouths.
Mouth
Is where the river meets the river or sea.
Source
Is where the river begins
Course
Is the path of the river from source to mouth.
Basin
Is the area drained by its river and tributaries.
Distributaries
Are the smaller rivers that break off from the main river as it enters the sea.
Processes of river transportation
Are hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition and solution, solution, saltation, suspension and traction.
Hydraulic action
Is the the erosion by the force of moving water
Abrasion
Is when the river uses its load to erode the bed and banks.
Attrition
Is when the load bang against each other and the rocks are smoothed
Solution
Is when some rocks dissolve
Solution
Is when rock minerals dissolve and are carried away
Saltation
Is when small stones bounce off the bottom of the river
Suspension
Is when light material is carried along.
Traction
Is when larger materials are rolled along the river bed
The old age stage
Is when the river slows down and it deposits its load. Some features are ox-bow lakes, levees and deltas
Ox-bow lake
The neck of the meander narrows, eventually breaks off into a straight line and an ox-bow lake is formed by the deposition cutting it off
Levee
Is when a river floods and all the water and deposits flow up onto the floodplain and the deposits stay there and eventually build up.
Delta
Is when the river slows down and deposits its load which forms a delta. An example is the Mississippi River in USA, the Nile in Egypt.
River features
Are the watershed, tributaries, confluence, estuary, delta, mouth, source, course, basin and distributaries