Block Size | River Glossary (2024)

FAQs

What are the features of a river glossary? ›

banks - these are the sides of a river that the water normally flows through. brackish - this is a mixture of salt water and fresh water. channel - this is the path that a river takes over land. current - this is the movement or flow of water. delta - this is a large, silty area found at the mouth of a river.

In the broadest sense, river channel form is controlled by a) the amount of water (especially the size of 'common' floods that occur once every few years, as discussed below), b) the underlying geology (the type of rock and variability within the rock structure), c) the amount and type of sediment supplied to the ...

A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".

The movement of water in a river is called a current. The current is usually strongest near the river's source. Storms can also increase the current. A swift current can move even large boulders.

These features can be grouped into the following five components: shape, flow, connectivity, biology, and water quality. A stream's shape is formed over time through the continuous interaction between water and the watershed, including its size, climate (wet or dry), topography, soil types, and vegetation.

In this framework, matter and energy fluxes are considered along four river-dimensions: (1) longitudinal; (2) transverse; (3) vertical; and (4) temporal.

The length of a stream is the distance measured along the stream channel from the source to a given point or to the outlet, a distance that may be measured on a map or from aerial photographs. On large-scale maps, it is measured along the geometrical axis, or the line of maximum depth.

As the water flows down, it may pick up more water from other small streams, springs or or from rain or snow melt. These streams may slowly join together to form a larger stream or river. Small rivers and streams may join together to become larger rivers.

A thalweg is the center of the principal navigable channel of the waterway (which is presumed to be the deepest part). If there are multiple navigable channels in a river, the one principally used for downstream travel (likely having the strongest current) is used.

What is the walkway next to a river called? ›

An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk.

Riparian land is land that touches a lake, river, stream, or creek.

A confluence occurs when two or more flowing bodies of water join together to form a single channel. Confluences occur where a tributary joins a larger river, where two rivers join to create a third or, where two separated channels of a river, having formed an island, rejoin downstream.

A delta forms where a river meets a lake. River deltas form when a river carrying sediment reaches a body of water, such as a lake, ocean, or a reservoir.

The place where a river begins is called its source. River sources are also called headwaters. And. The end of a river is its mouth, or delta.

In the middle course, river features include wider, shallower valleys, meanders, and oxbow lakes. And finally, in the lower course, there are wide flat-bottomed valleys, floodplains and deltas.

Rivers have many small streams (tributaries) which join together to form a main channel. V-shaped valleys form in the upper course of a river where there is a lot of downwards erosion. The water in a river is always flowing and the speed of the flow depends on how steep the river bed is.

The water in a river is usually confined to a channel, made up of a stream bed between banks. In larger rivers, there is often also a wider floodplain shaped by floodwaters over-topping the channel. Floodplains may be very wide in relation to the size of the river channel.