Rivers Flashcards
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| 189695942 | River/stream | flowing body of water that flows downhill with a definite path carrying particles and dissolved materials | |
| 189695943 | Channel | the river's path | |
| 189695944 | Load | what the river carries | |
| 189695945 | River principle | The principle means by which water from precipitation returns to the ocean | |
| 189695946 | Tributaries | contributing streams that diminish in size upstream | |
| 189695947 | Drainage basin | the river and all its tributaries |  |
| 189695948 | Drainage basin boundaries | usually mountains or other areas of higher elevation | |
| 189695949 | 5 Largest Drainage Basins | 1. Mississippi 2. Mackenzie (Canada) 3. Amazon (S. America) 4. Nile 5. Yangtze/Yellow River (China) | |
| 189695950 | Drainage Divide | boundary between drainage basins | |
| 189695951 | Continental Divide | adjacent drainage basins drain in different directions off the continent (drain to different oceans) | |
| 189695952 | Types of drainage patterns | 1. dendritic 2. trellis 3. radial 4. rectangular |  |
| 189695953 | Dendritic Drainage Pattern | gentle slope, uniform materials, most common | |
| 189695954 | Trellis Drainage Pattern | forms resistant ridges | |
| 189695955 | Radial Drainage Pattern | needs some form of a central uplift (high spot) | |
| 189695956 | Rectangular Drainage Pattern | two directions of structural control | |
| 189695957 | Discharge | volume of water passing by in (usually) 1 second | |
| 189695958 | Discharge formula | Q = w * d * v = X m3/second Discharge = width x depth x velocity of stream | |
| 189695959 | Hydrograph | plot of discharge versus time |  |
| 189695960 | Gauging station | instrument adjacent to streams that collects river data | |
| 189695961 | Basin lag | time elapsed between rainfall and peak discharge by the river | |
| 189695962 | Factors that increase basin lag | 1. wetlands 2. heavy vegetation (lots of roots and plants to suck up water) 3. convoluted drainage (more twists and turns for water to go through) | |
| 189695963 | Factors that decrease basin lag | 1. paved areas (water doesn't soak in) 2. tiled areas 3. low vegetation areas (crop lands, burned areas) | |
| 189820011 | Suspended transportation | Particles "float" through river | |
| 189820012 | Types of bed load transportation | Rolling Bouncing Sliding | |
| 189886966 | Describe ion transportation | material dissolved in solution | |
| 189886967 | Channel Types | Straight Meandering Braided | |
| 189886968 | How meanders are formed | 1. River starts straight 2. Something causes water to deflect (tree, etc.) 3. Erosion begins on cutbank side (outside) 4. Deposition begins on point bar side 5. Meander neck may cut off and form oxbow lake |  |
| 189886969 | Flood Plain | flat valley bottom, normally capped by alluvium (deposited sediments), prone to flooding |  |
| 189962855 | Straight Channel |  | |
| 189962856 | Meandering Channel |  | |
| 189962857 | Braided Channel |  | |
| 189962858 | What are flood plains good for? | Agriculture | |
| 189962859 | Alluvial fan | sediment left where river ends and the water evaporates or sinks | |
| 189962860 | Where are alluvial fans common? | Mountainous and deser arears | |
| 189962861 | Distributaries | Stream branches outward | |
| 189962862 | Delta | where a river reaches standing water | |
| 189962863 | Natural levee | when a river floods and then recedes, it leaves sediment along river banks |