01:460:100 Study Guide - Final Guide: Oxbow Lake, Meander Cutoff, Downcutting

• School: Rutgers University
• Department: Geological Sciences
• Course: 01:460:100
• Professor: Mark Feigenson

Document Summary

River - large natural waterway that flows into another body of water. Runoff - the draining away of water from the surface of a land. Watershed - region drained by single river or river system (ex: mississippi). Bed load - sand and gravel moved during flood stage. Due to low gradient, less downcutting and more deposition. Momentum along the thalweg erodes the cut bank (outside bank). Deposition occurs at the point bar (inside bank). Natural levees form ridges parallel to channel. The meander cutoff forms an oxbow lake. Natural levee - bank of sediment built by successive floods; max 6 meters. Tool used: hydrograph - graph of river"s discharge or stage (height) vs. time. Examining past events - maximum annual discharge. Delta - forms when a stream enters standing water. Stream divides into a fan of distributaries. Sediments drop out as water spreads out from mouth. Groundwater - water beneath earth"s surface that supplies wells & springs.