ERTH 110 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Raging Waters, Oceanic Basin, Drainage Basin
Document Summary
November 7, 2017: drainage basin (watershed): area drained by a single stream or river, river channel, riverbank: edges of the channel, mouth: end of the stream in a downstream, streambed: floor of the channel. The material moved by streams is the sediment load -- rivers transport materials along with water; total load consists of: Bed load: coarse particles moving along the bottom of river channel, less than 10% of total load. Suspended loads accounts of 90% of its total load and makes river look muddy mostly silt and clay. Braided patterns streams choked with sediment become braided. Has highly variable discharge and easily eroded banks, sediment gets deposited to form sand and gravel bars and islands that are exposed during periods of low discharge. Water flows in a braided pattern around the islands and bars dividing reuniting as it flows downstream. Islands may between resistant to erosion if they become inhabited by vegetation. Discharge: volume of water in a river.
