Fluvial Processes
Terms
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- fluvial
- comes from the latin word fluvis which means river
- running water dominates
- 3/4 of land area
- water moves
- much slower than wind but moves far more materials
- water moving as sheet flow can
- move material
- ephermal streams and rivers
- rivers and streams in arid environments that periodically dry up
- as streams change
- they cause flood plains and river valleys
- flood plains are
- flat areas adjacent to rivers or streams thats periodically hold water
- relatively resistant rocks on one or both sides of a flood plain produce
- bluffs
- natural leeves
- are somewhat elevated areas of land on either side of a channel
- when water leaves their banks
- it is exposed to a significant amount of friction
- friction on the banks slows
- overflowing water and forces the heaviest sediments (like sand and course silt)
- the leeves are made up of
- sands and course silts
- back swamps are
- low lying portions of the flood plain lying between the natural leeve and the edge of the flood plain
- river terrance
- is an abandoned flood plain located above the present stream (includes the present flood plain)
- Changing climate or tetonic uplift may cause
- down cutting bellow the existing flood plain, and enough time passes a new flood plain is created bellow the original one
- waterfalls and rapids
- are portions of channels with steep gradients
- Deltas
- are deposits of alluvium, formed when streams enter standing water
- Alluvial fans
-
are usually found in dry mountanous emvironments
-much like deltas - plateaus
- are extensive areas of flat land places of higher elevation
- Mesas
- have steep sides appear to be somewhat smaller than plateaus surrounded by lower lying plains
- Buttes
- are even smaller, flat topped elevated places with steep sides