What are the characteristics of a mature river?
Mature river: A river with a gradient that is less steep than those of youthful rivers and flows more slowly. A mature river is fed by many tributaries and has more discharge than a youthful river. Its channels erode wider rather than deeper.
What is the mature stage of a river?
In the mature stage of a river the slope becomes gentler and the river becomes much wider as it is joined by many tributaries. The river is also carrying a load now that has been eroded from further upstream. Meanders are bends or curves which are found in the mature stage (middle course) of a river.
What are the 4 characteristics of a river?
Upper course river features include steep-sided V-shaped valleys, interlocking spurs, rapids, waterfalls and gorges. Middle course river features include wider, shallower valleys, meanders, and oxbow lakes. Lower course river features include wide flat-bottomed valleys, floodplains and deltas.
What are the physical characteristics of a river?
Rivers shape the land as they flow over it. They may form valleys, floodplains, and deltas. When water flows through the mouth of a river into a large body of standing water, such as a lake or ocean, the river slows down. It deposits the sediment it is carrying near its mouth, generally forming a delta (Figure 4.10).
What are the characteristics of a river mouth?
As a river flows, it picks up sediment from the river bed, eroding banks, and debris on the water. The river mouth is where much of this gravel, sand, silt, and clay—called alluvium—is deposited. When large amounts of alluvium are deposited at the mouth of a river, a delta is formed.
What are two types of river mouths?
Types of river mouths
- Typesof mouths.
- Stuary of Tagus river.
- Ría de Ortigueira.
- Fjords (in Norway)
- Delta of Nile river.
What are the main features of a river estuary?
Estuaries. An estuary is where the river meets the sea. The river here is tidal and when the sea retreats the volume of the water in the estuary is less reduced. When there is less water, the river deposits silt to form mudflats which are an important habitat for wildlife.
What are the sources of a river?
The source of a river or stream is the original point from which the river flows. The source of a river or stream may be a lake, a marsh, a spring, glacier, or a collection of headwaters.
What is the head of a river called?
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river’s source.
What is a meander in a river?
Rivers flowing over gently sloping ground begin to curve back and forth across the landscape. These are called meandering rivers. Meandering rivers erode sediment. from the outer curve of each meander bend and deposit it on an inner curve further down stream.
What is the name for where a river meets the sea?
Estuaries
What are the tributaries of a river?
A tributary is a body of water that flows into another body of water. The opposite of a tributary is a distributary. A distributary is a river that branches off from the main flow of water, for example in a river delta. The Simple English Wiktionary has a definition for: tributary.
What is Delta in short answer?
A river delta is a landform where the mouth of a river flows into an ocean, sea, desert, estuary, lake or another river. It is formed by sediment carried by the river being deposited in the wider mouth. This happens because the water moves less quickly there.