River Terms

Index (click to jump to the term)

• Headwaters• Tributary• Meander• Braided• Weathering and

Erosion• Deposition• Delta• Load• Watershed

FloodplainRapidsFlatwaterOx-bowOx-bow lakeSedimentConfluenceMature RiverYouthful river

Headwaters• n : the source of a river; “the little

tributaries that are the start of the river”

Tributary• n. A stream that flows into a larger stream or

other body of water

Meander

• v: To follow a winding and turning course

• (not just any turn in a river, but one on level land)

Weathering & Erosion

• Breakup of earth materials by physical and/or chemical means

• Movement of said materials

Deposition

• n 1: the natural process of laying down a deposit of something

• What would a river deposit?

• Where?• Why?

Ox-bow • n. A u-shaped bend in a river.

Oxbow lake

Deltan 1: a low triangular area where a river divides before entering a larger body of water

•What about the word delta?

Load

• n. whatever the river is carrying in it

• Such as???

Watershed: n. The whole region of land which

contributes to the supply of a river or lake.

Floodplain

• n. A plain bordering a river and subject to seasonal flooding.

Rapids

• n. A fast moving part of a river

Flatwater

Gorge• –n 1. a narrow cleft with steep, rocky

walls, especially one through which a stream runs

Sediment• The muck carried

by the river that has settled to the bottom

Reservoir

• a natural or artificial lake for collecting and storing water

Confluence

• Place where streams or rivers come together

Mature River

• A geology term. A mature section of a river is one that has certain characteristics (NOT AGE!)

Youthful river• A geology term. A youthful section of a river is

one that has certain characteristics

Out behind the school…Use your river vocabularyUse your river vocabulary

knowledge here!knowledge here!