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!