The river is a kind of water body of the planet; a permanent natural channel filled with water, which moves in the direction of lowering the height due to its gravity. The system in the river is replenished due to underground flows, precipitation, tides, as well as melting snow (when snow and ice in the liquid state fall down). Water flows can be constant and temporary, can dry out seasonally.
The constituent parts of the river:
- source;
- 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 plot of groundwater, which found access to the surface, or a source - a lake, a swamp. Also often the source may 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) - everyone takes their own special regime, based on the characteristics of the source. After all, it is he who exerts 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 a reservoir, you should be vigilant and careful.
Mouth
The river carries its waters to a place called the mouth. This is the place in which the flow ceases to function, in other words, this is the final section. A river necessarily flows into another body of water: it can be a sea, a lake, an ocean, a 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 power of flows. This feature is called the delta of such a reservoir as a river. The parts of the river in question are particularly important in economic activity. It is in the deltas that it is very convenient to build ports, and the land in these areas is particularly fertile.
Another variant of the wide mouth of the river is called the estuary. The formation of such an estuary is due to significant sediment and the shallow sea into which the water flows. Causing large quantities of sand and solid particles by the river, they occur at the mouth and are covered with large-scale sections 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
A river valley is an elongated and longitudinal lowering of the relief along which the river moves. It consists of the following components: channel, floodplain, terrace, and the main shore.
Depending on the landforms where the river flows, parts of the river, namely the valley, can be mountainous and flat. The first option usually has considerable depth and a fairly narrow width, and the second, on the contrary, is characterized by shallow depths and large widths.
The river valley can have different forms, the formation of which depends on a number of factors: these may be features of the relief, erosion processes, or rock composition. Coming out of these factors, they distinguish the following types: canyon, gorge, gorge, etc.
Channel
A channel is a depression along which water flows constantly. It can have different forms, due to which the river coils. Parts of the river (to be more precise, the channel) can vary significantly throughout its path. Such bends are called meanders. Also, the channel can change its depth - deeper sections are called reaches (maximum depth is the channel of the river), shallow ones are called rifts. When a water stream abruptly breaks off and falls from a height, this place is called a waterfall.
Floodplain
A floodplain is a part of a valley that is filled with water during floods. The edges of the floodplain are easy to identify - usually they have a steep slope.
Terrace and root beach
The slopes of the valleys may have a stepped relief. These steps are called terraces. They can be accumulative, erosive and socle forms of origin.
The root shore is the boundary of the watercourse. Allocate the right and left bank of the river.
Tributaries
Tributaries are smaller streams that flow into a larger stream. But sometimes exceptions occur: the smaller is considered the main, and the tributary is the large river. Parts of the river (streams) that flow in the direction of the right stream are called right tributaries, and in the direction of the left, they are left.
The main river with all its components and all tributaries is called the river system. The highest water area of the system is considered its center, and it is it that gives the name to the entire river system. Usually, hydrologists (scientists who understand the structure of water bodies) deal with the names.
Any river has its own parameters and characteristics:
- the length of the watercourse is the length of the river from its source to its mouth;
- catchment area - the amount of all waters, together with tributaries;
- annual water flow - the amount of water flowing down per year;
- river network density - the number of river tributaries;
- fall and river slope.
Parts of the river and their definitions are presented in the article; remembering the names and what they are will not be difficult and will be useful to everyone.