Life Cycle Of A River

Submitted By:
Sanjeet Singh
 Contents
• Formation of river
• Three stages of river
• Young stage
• Middle stage
• Old stage
This lovely mountain meadow shows a
stream flowing in a very gently sloping
bed
 Formation Of River
•
     The place where a river begins is called
its source.  Rivers begin high in the
mountains, where melting snow gathers in
small streams.  The water winds its ways
through alpine meadows and begins its
downward journey.
This picture shows a young river
flowing in its stony bed. You can
see why people call this "white
water". The water twists this way
and that around the rocks.
 Three Stages Of River

There are three types of river:-

oMiddle stage
oOld Stage
oYoung Stage

Young Stage Of River

 Young Stage

• The young river flows swiftly, with many rapids

and waterfalls. It erodes its bed and cuts a
narrow, V-shaped valley with steep sides. Notice
the very steep sides of this valley and the
powerful waterfall.
• As the river flows, it is joined by other steams, its
tributaries. The river has a greater flow of water
now, and the river's bed is not so steep. The
tributaries are also eroding the sides of the
valley. The valleys become wider, and the walls of
the valleys slope more gradually
 Young Stage
• The valley floor becomes almost flat, and the water
can spread out when the snows melt. In the
mountains the streams form meadows where
aspens and willows begin to grow. Further down the
river's course the valley becomes a flood plain.
When there is a lot of water catastrophic flooding
can destroy human communities
 Middle Stage
• In the last part of a river's journey, it flows
through a gently sloping flood plain. Because
the plain is nearly level, the river can wander
across it in a winding, snaking pattern. These
loops and turns are called meanders. A
meandering river flowing through a floodplain
is called a mature river.
 Middle Stage
• A mature river carries a heavy load of
sediment. When the flow of water slows, the
sediment settles to the bottom. Sand bars
begin to appear.

This picture shows the beginning of a meander

pattern that this river formed when the green
terraces in the picture were the floor of the
floodplain. It has started cutting a V shaped
valley again
 Old Stage
• The final stage in the life of a river is its
joining with the sea. By now the river is
traveling smoothly and carrying a lot of
sand and clay. Merging with the sea slows
the water flow even more, and the
sediment drops out. This often leads to
the formation of a delta, a broad,
triangular river mouth with many sand
bars and water channels.
 Old Stage
• The delta becomes an estuary, an area with
sheltered waters and a constant stream of
nutrients from the land. The sand bars become
islands with grass and trees that provide cover and
nesting sites for birds.  Estuaries are important
nurseries for the young of aquatic animals.  They
are highly productive because they provide
nutrients washed down from the land in an
environment that is sheltered, and shallow enough
to encourage the growth of water plants
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