Fluvial Processes and Floods Quiz

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Questions and Answers

What happens to a stream’s capacity and competence when its speed increases?

  • They both remain constant.
  • They both increase. (correct)
  • They both decrease.
  • Only capacity increases while competence decreases.

What is the primary cause of floods?

  • Ground saturation and runoff causing rivers to overflow. (correct)
  • Reduction of stream velocity due to obstacles.
  • Heavy snowfall melting rapidly in spring.
  • Rainwater falling directly into streams.

What defines the thalweg of a stream?

  • The section of the stream that is prone to flooding.
  • The shallowest part of the stream.
  • The location of sediment deposition.
  • The area of the stream with the highest velocity. (correct)

What characterizes an alluvial fan?

<p>It is commonly formed by intermittent streams flowing into a valley. (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a cutbank in a meandering stream?

<p>The outer portion where erosion takes place. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements about floodplains is true?

<p>They are flat low-lying areas next to streams that may flood. (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the load carried by a stream when its velocity decreases?

<p>It decreases as the stream drops part of its load. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How do terraces form along a river?

<p>When a river begins to downcut through older floodplain material. (D)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Streams

  • Any moving water regardless of name (river, creek, run, stream, brook, branch, etc.)
  • Fluvial is the term for stream-related processes and landforms
  • Fluvial processes involve erosion, transportation, and deposition

Stream Transportation

  • Bed load is the transportation of sediment that rolls, slides, or bounces along the bottom
  • Suspended load is the transportation of sediment that is carried within the water column

Stream Deposition

  • Occurs when a stream's speed slows, reducing its capacity or competence
  • Deposited material is called alluvium

Floods

  • Occur when more water falls than the ground can absorb, resulting in excess runoff
  • Excess runoff causes streams to overflow their banks
  • Floods accumulate all overland flow in a drainage basin
  • Larger basins have more runoff
  • More rain leads to more runoff

Fluvial Landforms

  • Questions to consider when studying fluvial landforms:
    • Why are they there?
    • What processes made them?
    • What is the time scale of the process?

Stream Velocity and Load Carrying Power

  • Faster stream velocity increases:
    • Load carrying power
    • Erosive Power
    • Capacity and/or competence
  • Slower stream velocity decreases:
    • Load carrying power
    • Erosive power
    • Capacity and/or competence, resulting in deposition of sediment

Floodplain

  • Flat, low-lying area next to a stream that floods

Thalweg

  • The location of the fastest water flow in a stream
  • Determines the location of pools, mid-channel bars, and riffles/nickpoints

Alluvial Fans

  • Common in valleys
  • Formed by intermittent or ephemeral streams flowing into a valley

Meandering Stream

  • A stream channel that develops a sinuous form across the landscape (floodplain)

Cutbank

  • The outer portion of a meandering stream where erosion takes place

Point Bar

  • The inner portion of a meandering stream where deposition takes place

Oxbow Lake

  • A meander that becomes separated from the stream

Terraces

  • Develop when the base level of a floodplain is lowered and the river begins downcutting through the old floodplain material.

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