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Questions and Answers
What happens to a stream’s capacity and competence when its speed increases?
What is the primary cause of floods?
What defines the thalweg of a stream?
What characterizes an alluvial fan?
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What is a cutbank in a meandering stream?
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Which of the following statements about floodplains is true?
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What happens to the load carried by a stream when its velocity decreases?
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How do terraces form along a river?
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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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Description
Test your knowledge on stream-related processes, including erosion, transportation, and deposition. Explore the concepts of bed load, suspended load, and the impact of floods on drainage basins and fluvial landforms. Perfect for students studying earth sciences and geomorphology.
