What is a river? Parts of the river and their definitions

The river is a kind of water reservoirs of the planet; A permanent natural canal filled with water, which moves in the direction of lowering its height due to its gravity. The system in the river is replenished due to underground streams, precipitation, tides, as well as melting of snow (when snow and ice in the liquid state sink down). Water flows can be permanent and temporary, they can dry out seasonally.

Components of the river :

• source;
• The mouth;
• River valley;
• Floodplain;
• terrace;
• Tributaries of the river.

Source

The place where the life of any river begins is called the source. On geographical maps, this area is depicted as a small dot. This place can serve as a site of underground waters, which found an outlet to the surface, or a source - a lake, a swamp. Also often the source can be a site in which two rivers merge, forming a separate, new stream.

All streams have their own direction of flow. Parts of the river (river system) - all take their own particular regime, based on the characteristics of the source. After all, it is he who has an important influence on the remaining territory of the stream. Quite often this part is flooded during floods and floods, therefore being at the source of some water body, one should be vigilant and cautious.

The mouth

The river carries its waters to a place called the mouth. This is the place where the flow ceases to exist, in other words, it's the end site. The river necessarily flows into another pond: it may be the sea, the lake, the ocean, the reservoir or another larger river.

The mouths of large water areas can have a large branching, which depends on the amount of water and the thickness of the streams. This feature is called the delta of a reservoir like a river. The parts of the river in question are especially important in economic activity. It is very convenient to build ports in deltas, and land in these areas is very fertile.

Another version of the wide mouth of the river is called the estuary. The formation of such a mouth occurs because of significant sediment and shallow sea, into which the water flow flows. By applying large amounts of sand and solid particles by a river, they lie on the mouth and are covered by large areas of water.

The difference between the delta and the estuary is that the delta consists of several small currents, and the estuary is one wide stream.

Valley

The river valley is the elongated and longitudinal lowering of the relief along which the river moves. It consists of such components: river bed, floodplain, terrace and the indigenous shore.

Depending on the shape of the relief, where the river flows, parts of the river, namely the valley, can be mountainous and flat. The first variant usually has a considerable depth and a rather narrow width, and the second, on the contrary, is characterized by shallow depths and a large width.

River valley can have different forms, the formation of which depends on a number of factors: it can be features of relief, erosion processes or rock composition. Exiting these factors, distinguish such types: canyon, gorge, gorge, etc.

Channel

The river bed is a depression along which water flows constantly. It can have different forms, due to which the river winds. The parts of the river (to be more precise, the channel) can vary considerably throughout their journey. Such bends are called meanders. Also, the riverbed can change its depth - deeper plots are called plesy (maximum depth is the river's channel), small ones - by rifts. When a water stream breaks off sharply and falls from a height, this place is called a waterfall.

Floodplain

The floodplain is part of the valley, which during the floods is filled with water. The edges of the floodplain are easy to determine - they usually have a steep slope.

Terrace and bed

Slope valleys can have a stepped relief. These steps are called terraces. They can be accumulative, erosive and socle forms of origin.

The indigenous shore is the boundary of the watercourse. Highlight the right and left bank of the river.

Tributaries

Inflows are smaller streams that flow into a larger stream. But sometimes there are exceptions: the smaller is considered the main one, and the tributary is a large river. The parts of the river (streams) that flow in the direction of the right current are called right tributaries, in the direction of the left stream they are called the left tributaries.

The main river with all its components and all tributaries is called the river system. The most abundant water area of the system is considered its center, it gives the name to the entire river system. Usually, names are dealt with by hydrologists (scientists who understand the structure of water bodies).

Any river has its own parameters and characteristics:

• The length of the watercourse is the extent of the river from its source to the mouth;
• The catchment area is the quantity of all waters, together with tributaries;
• Annual water flow - the amount of water draining over a year;
• Density of the river network - the number of river tributaries;
• Fall and slope of the river.

Parts of the river and their definitions are presented in the article; Remember the names and what they represent, it will not be difficult and will be useful for everyone.