DELTA LANDFORM

Geography
Kayla Persaud & Llydell Forde
Grade 10WA
Teacher: Ms. Christine Saw

A delta is a low-lying, almost flat landform, composed of sediments

deposited where a river flows into a lake or an ocean.
A delta is a land form comprised of sediments found at the mouth of
the river. A delta can only form when river channels carry sediments
into another body of water.

Formation

Unlike other landforms affected by water current, a delta is not mainly

created because of erosion of land surface caused by the force of wind
and water. As the river channel flows over the ground and makes
contact with soil, it carries with it sediments like gravel, sand, silt and
clay. When a river channel encounters another body of water, it loses
it speed and deposits such sediments onto a flat area. The sediment
deposited by this running water is called Alluvium. These sediments
pile up into several layers called beds. The delta becomes a main
channel that divides substantial land masses into various streams
called distributaries. These distributaries appear like a maze of water
channels.

Factors

The river’s depth, width and velocity determine how much and how
big the sediments it can carry. A fast and turbulent river transports
larger sediments in size and amount. When the river’s flow slows
down, the size of the particles decreases because larger particles are
deposited first. This cycle continues producing beds with alternating
layers of fine and course sediments. The battle between the river’s
flow and the amount of sediments it carries, and the strength of the
tidal waves of the body of water, determines the delta’s shape.

Types

The three main types of deltas are the arcuate, the bird's foot and the
cuspate. The arcuate are the fan-shaped deltas. The wider portion of
the fan is facing the water. Relatively coarse sediments are formed in
this type of delta. The river activity is balanced with the wind. The
bird’s foot delta got its name because it forms like a bird foot’s claw.
This shape is created when the waves are weak and the river flow is
stronger. Thus, this delta rarely occurs along ocean coasts because the
waves are often stronger than the river current. The cuspate deltas are
formed where sediments are deposited onto a straight shoreline with
strong waves. The waves push the sediments to spread outwardly
creating the tooth-like shape.

Locations and Examples of the Landform

The Nile Delta is an example of an arcuate delta while the Mississippi

Delta is classified as a bird’s foot delta. The Tiber Delta found in Italy is
an example of a cuspate delta. Other large rivers around the world
such as Rhine, Danube, Tigris, Euphrates and Mekong have formed
their own deltas that are fertile enough to grow agricultural
vegetation. The Huang He, or Yellow River, in China deposits the
greatest load of sediment annually into its delta. The load weighs
around 1.6 billion tons.