GEOL 213 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: List Of Lakes By Volume, Stream Gradient, Gorai-Madhumati River

• School: College of Charleston
• Department: Geology and Environmental Geosciences
• Course: GEOL 213
• Professor: Jaume'

Document Summary

Rivers are primary agent of erosion; i. e. , most sediment that moves from mountains to ocean does so via rivers. Water movement transforms sediment from large, angular pieces to smaller & more rounded pieces. Movement of sediment results in creation of deltas. Most river sediment starts as landslide deposits in the mountains (& most landslides are triggered by heavy rainfall). Earthquake triggered landslides also contribute to sediment in mountain river valleys. This sediment usually consists of a mix of large & small angular rock pieces. Slope (gradient) of river bottom starts off steep & gets flatter as you go downhill. Water flows fastest in uphill parts of a drainage basin. Size of sediment moved depends on water speed & volume; volume of sediment moved depends mainly on water volume. Steep uphill stream gradients lead to fast moving water that can transport large-size sediment. Flatter downhill gradients only allow smaller sediments to be moved. Dissolved load chemical dissolved out of rocks.