Rivers Flashcards
Alluvium
River deposits, usually well sorted on floodplains
Base level
General level below which rivers cannot incise their valley, ultimately sea level
Bedload
Coarse sediment, sliding, rolling or saltation (bouncing) along the base of the river flow
Braided stream
Multiple channels that seperate and rejoin, typically where sediment load is high
Capacity
Total possible amount of sediment load that a river can transport
Competence
River’s ability to move particles of a specific size, function of river velocity
Delta
Accumulation of rivers reaching a sea or lake
Dendritic drainage patterns
Most common and efficient, similar to branching tree
Discharge
River flow in volume per unit time
Drainage basin
Area drained by drainage net at any point along river
Drainage density
Total length of all rover channels divided by basin area, typically low in deserts and high in humid tropics
Divide
Boundry between different discharge basins
Exotic stream/river
Discharge diminishes downstream due to entering an area where evaporation is greater
Floodplain
Accumulated river deposited sediment from regular flooding
Incised meander
River meander cut in bedrock
Interception
Vegetation delaying percipitation from reaching the ground
Interfluve
Local divide sperating one river catchment from another
Laminar flow
Water particles move in parallel flow path
Longitudinal profile
Side view of steepness of profile
Overland flow
Water moving downslope above the soil surface
Rill
Small intermittent channels of overland flow
Saturated zone
Groundwater area where all spaces entirely water-filled
Solution load
Dissolved minerals in salts in the river
Stream capture
Headwater or river cut back through divides and divert tributary from neighbouring valley
