Stream Processes

Watch selected segments from video below and answer the questions while watching the video:

http://www.learner.org/resources/series78.html

Watch Video 19: Running Water I: Rivers, Erosion and Deposition (stop at minute 16)

What 3 things do all streams do?

 What is one important factor in how rivers shape the land?

 What factors can cause a river's velocity to increase?

 What is discharge?

 What are the 3 erosional processes of rivers?

 What factors affect sediment transport ?

 What are river bars?

Describe a meander point bar and cut bank.

 What is a floodplain, and what does a river store there?

What are natural levees?

What are some of the pro and con of artificial levees?

At about 14:50 min: “when we move into the floodplain, we pretty much move into the river itself” What does the interviewed person mean?

Explain the goods and odds of river dams

(Stop the video at about 16min.

Readings from textbook: Chapter 13: p. 340-365

What do you need to know from this chapter? Create your own notes!

· What is the Hydrologic Cycle: what are the two paths that rainfall can take after it reaches the land surface?

· What are some of the most common uses of water withdrawn from streams?

· What are the drainage basin (a.k.a. watershed) and divide of a stream?

( Stop at “River systems”

· Stream gradient, sinuosity, velocity: be familiar with the concept and the calculation (in class we will do more examples). What factors can cause a river's velocity to increase?

· What is River Discharge (Q) ?

· The work of running water: What 3 things do all streams do? How do streams erode, transport and deposit Sediment? How are particles transported in streams?

· What is the difference between beadload and suspended load?

· Describe the two principal types of streams channel: meander and braided.

· Stream related landforms: cut bank, point bar, floodplain, natural levees, etc. (Fig. 13.17)

· What is the base level of a stream?

· What is a floodplain, and what does a river store there?

· What are deltas, natural levees and alluvial fans? Where do they form?

· What is the difference between a flash flood and a regional flood?

· Flood recurrence interval (in class we will do a lab)