Features of a River

8th grade river features key words

Source

The start of a river.

Tributary

A stream or river that flows into and joins the main river.

Confluence

The point at which 2 rivers/streams join.

River

A large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean.

Levees

River embankments built by deposition as the river floods.

Delta

A river landform made up of deposited sediment at the mouth of a river.

Estuary

The tidal mouth of a large river, where the tide meets the stream.

Mouth

The end of the river, where it meets the sea.

Channel

A groove created by water moving down the same path.

Oxbow Lake

A meander which has been cut off from the main river and abandoned, turning into a C-shaped curvy lake..

Meander

A bend in a river usually found in the middle or lower course of a river.

Erosion

Processes by which rock, sand, and soil are broken down and carried away

Deposition

Process in which sediment is laid down in new locations.

Attrition

A gradual weakening of the rocks hitting each other.

Abrasion

Pebbles being transported and wearing away the bed and banks of the river.

Hydraulic action

The sheer force of the water by itself can erode material from the bed and banks of the river channel.

Traction

Pebbles and larger rocks are rolled along the sea bed.

Suspension

Fine light material is carried along in the water.

Solution

Soluble materials dissolve in the acidic water by acids and are carried along.