Streams (Rivers)

Runoff:
H20 that does not sink into ground Most ends up in streams

 How much, depends on terrain + amount of precip.

Assume same precipitation for both. Which place would have More runoff?

Assume same precipitation for both. Which place would have More runoff?

Assume same precipitation for both. Which place would have More runoff?

People can increase runoff by:

Removing vegetation (road building, bad farming, clear cutting)

Clear cut forest in Canada

 Building large parking lots/buildings

Silt fence

Water retention pond

Extra runoff can lead to:

Loss of top soil Aquifers not being replenished (wells going dry) Flooding downstream

Load:
Sediment carried by water Faster moving water carries more load

3 main types of load:

1. Dissolved: minerals like NaCl 2. Suspended: silt, clay (makes water look muddy) 3. Bed: sand, gravel

Suspended Bed

Dissolved

Types of streams:
1. Meandering streams: on low slopes, fine sediment

Point bar: sediment deposited in slow water

Cut bank: where sediment is carried away in fast water

slow

fast

Draw and label

fast

slow

slow

fast

Oxbow lake: remnant of stream

2. Braided streams: bars and islands in middle

3. Mountain stream: steep slope, no floodplain, straighter

Drainage basin:
area drained by a stream

 separates basins Ex.: Rocky Mnts. called Continental Divide

Divide:

North Carolina river basins

Tributary:
smaller stream that empties into a larger one

Canyon formation:
River cuts down as land is uplifted

Uplift of the Colorado Plateaus forced rivers to cut down faster

Stream Deposition:
erosion produces load produces deposition

 Sediment deposition when stream reaches its base level

Delta:

Alluvial fan:
deposition when a stream flattens out

Stream discharge:
Volume of water flowing in m3/s (or cfm)

Floodplain:
Land next to stream that floods periodically

Dealing with floods has its problems.

1. Levees:
ridges (natural or artificial ) that contain a stream

2. Channelizing can:
Create flooding downstream Increase erosion Warm water by removing trees

3. Dams:
Trap river organisms Trap sediment Expensive Flood land upstream