1.3: Down to the coast Flashcards
What are meanders?
Wide S-shaped bends, called meanders.
How are meanders formed?
Meanders are formed when the water wears away the outer bank of the river.
What are oxbow lakes?
The old meanders
How are oxbow lakes are formed?
Sometimes when it floods, a river will cut off meanders from the main river. The old meanders from oxbow lakes, which eventually dry up.
What are tributaries?
Other small rivers
What is a river basin?
The whole area of land from which a river get its water is called the river basin.
How are floodplains formed?
A river sometimes floods the nearby land. When the floodwater has gone, the land is covered by fine mud deposited by the river. when this flooding and deposition is repeated thousands of times over many years, it forms a large, flat area called a floodplain.
What is an estuary?
The river has a wide mouth, this is called an estuary.
How are deltas formed?
If the tides are not strong where the river enters the sea, the river may split up into several channels. The mud and sand deposited by the river form a triangular-shaped delta.
