GEOG210N142017 - Running Water Final

Topic 12 - Earth Surface Processes: Running Water
(Rivers)
 Importance of Running Water (Rivers)
 Running Water
- Sources of River Water

- Drainage Basins
- Drainage Patterns
- Stream Ordering and Basin Morphometry
(Rivers)
 Open Channel Hydraulics and Downstream
Changes:
- Channel Hydraulics: Stream Discharge,

Velocity, Stream Power, etc.
- Hydraulic Geometry and Downstream
Streamflow Changes
- Stream Channel Flow and Stream Channel
patterns
- Longitudinal Profile of Stream Channel
(Rivers)
 Geomorphic Functions of Running Water:
- Stream Erosion and Fluvial Landforms
- Stream Transportation and Fluvial Landforms
- Stream Deposition and Fluvial Landforms
 River Rejuvenation
 Rver Floods and Flood Controls

Importance of Running Water (Rivers)
 Rivers serve as highways for moving people
and goods since the beginning of human history
 A source of irrigation water for agriculture.

Ancient Egypt irrigation networks of the Nile
River produced food surpluses for its region
 A source of domestic and industrial water and

utilized for hydro-Electric Power (Tennessee
Valley Authority)
 River is a major human resource and also a
source of natural hazards; Global river floods
alone are responsible for huge yearly loss of life
and property damages
 River systems,
as part of the
hydrologic cycle,
are involved in
recycling water
between the world
oceans and continents
 Running water is found everywhere and the
most important agent of denudation surpassing
wind, glacier, and ocean waves in sculpturing
and producing landforms across the globe
Running Water: Sources of River Water
 Thedominant source of water in stream
flow hydrograph is determined by:
- climate
- geology
- topography
- soil characteristics
- vegetation
- land use
Running Water: Source of Water in Rivers
 Precipitation is the only source of water found in
rivers.
 Rain water or snow melt water gets to the river

through several pathways:
- Hortonian Overland Stormflow
- Subsurface Storm flow
- Saturation Overland Stormflow
- Groundwater Delayed Flow
Running Water: Pathways of Rainwater to Streamflow
Path 1 is Overland Storm Runoff

Path 2 is Groundwater/Delayed Flow
Path 3 is Subsurface Storm Flow
Path 4 is Saturation Overland Storm Flow
NOTE: Unshaded top soils are highly permeable
Shaded subsoils or bedrocks are less permeable
Sources of Water in Rivers: Overland Stormflow
 Hortonian Overland stormflow occurs when
rainfall intensity is greater than soil infiltration
capacity (i.e., the maximum limiting rate soil can
absorb rainfall)
 Once rainfall intensity > infiltration capacity,

water will fill all depression storages
 When surface storages are exhausted, water

spills as irregular sheet of overland flow called
Hortonian Overland Stormflow occur
Overland Flow Moves Downslope as an Irregular
Sheet After Filling Up All Depression Storages
Hortonian Overland Flow
(Feet of W.B. Langbein)
 Horton believed that sheet flow will occur

everywhere in the basin during a rain storm
 But Betson (1964) argued that only a small

portion of the basin contributes Hortonian
overland flow to streamflow hydrograph
because of differences in soil infiltration
capacity even across a small area
 Betson idea became known as the partial-area

concept of storm runoff generation
 Horton overland flow velocity ranges from 10 -
500 m/hr as depth of flow reaches 1 cm
 Hortonian Overland Storm flow is common in:

- urban areas where urban impervious
surfaces reduce soil infiltration capacity
- farmlands where cropping equipment and
animal trampling reduce soil infiltration
capacity and
- arid lands where soil crusting by intense sun
occurs
- Construction sites with low infiltration
capacity
Sources of Water in Rivers: Subsurface Stormflow
 Subsurface Flow occurs in well vegetated/forested
humid areas where plant roots opening up highly
permeable soils for more infiltration
 Subsurface flow occurs

within the soil layer
 Saturation overland flow

occurs along saturated river channel
walls where subsurface flow
emerges as returnflow +
direct rainfall (see figure)
Saturation Overland Stormflow Areas at the Beginning
(dark color) and End of the Rain Event (light color)
Examples of Runoff Producing Areas in the Broad
Run Creek Catchment, PA (Dunne & Leopold 1978)
Runoff Processes in Relation to Their Major Controls
Sources of Water in Rivers: Groundwater Flow
 Groundwater/Delayed Flow: It is precipitation
water infiltrating deep to become part of the
groundwater below the water table. It is delayed
flow because it goes through pore spaces and
arrives the river several months later
 It forms the base flow of rivers and keeps the

river flowing all year round
 For example: In humid areas, perennial rivers

carry water all year round and sustained by the
delayed groundwater flow
Sources of Water in Rivers: Groundwater Flow
 Whereas, intermittent or seasonal rivers carry
water only when groundwater table is well above
channel floor, especially during the wet season
 And when water table is far below the river

floor, dry river valley occurs . Intermittent Rivers
are common in arid and semi-arid environments
 Ephemeral rivers carry water during a rainstorm

and dries up shortly after; It does not depend on
groundwater supply
Drainage Basin
 A drainage basin is the land area drained by a
river and all its tributaries.
 It is the land area where a river and all its

tributaries collect all
the rainwater flowing
through their channels
 It is defined by the basin

divide (i.e., the highest
mountain point) separating
rainwater flowing into one
river system from another
Drainage Basin: Mississippi River Basin
Basin is the area the Mississippi River collects all its water
Drainage Basin
Mississippi River Basin and the Nested Basins of its
Major Tributaries
Stream Drainage Patterns
 Each stream channel displays unique ways its
numerous networks of tributaries are connected
into a distinct stream drainage pattern
 Stream drainage pattern reflects the underlying

geologic structure of the basin
 The basic stream drainage patterns are:

- Dendritic Drainage Pattern
- Trellis Drainage Pattern
- Rectangular Drainage Pattern
- Radial Drainage Pattern
- Annular Drainage Pattern
Stream Drainage Patterns
Stream Drainage Pattern: Annular Pattern
Annular (ring) pattern develops on

domes (Black Hills) with
excavated interior exposing soft
layer with curved rivers &
outer hogback hard rocks; May
cut hard rocks to link circular
river at a lower river below
Stream Drainage Patterns: Dendritic Pattern
Stream Drainage Patterns: Trellis Pattern
Drainage Basin and Stream Channel Orders
 The concept of stream ordering describes how all the stream channels are
arranged, organized, classified and ranked to reveal its size and importance
in a drainage basin
 Stream ordering was first introduced by Robert Horton in 1945, modified

by Arthur N Strahler in the 1950s and Ronald L Shreve
 Strahler’s method is the most commonly used. A first order stream has no
tributaries and when two first order streams meet at a river
Drainage Basin and : Stream Channel Orders
junction, a second order stream begins
When a lower order stream meets a higher

order stream, it does not change its order
When two second order streams meet, a third

order stream begins and the second order stream
ends
A fourth order stream begins where two third

order streams meet and so on
 Use the next two diagrams to confirm that the stream order of the
streams flowing out of the two drainage basins are fourth order
streams
 What is the stream magnitude
using Shreve’s method of this
fourth order stream (Strahler
method) in the diagram to
the right?
Drainage Basin and Stream Orders -
Shreve’s Method
 In Strahler’s method,
when a lower stream
order meets a higher
stream order, the lower
stream order is ignored
 Shreve defines stream

magnitude as the total
number of stream segments
flowing into it. Stream
magnitude is a great
predictor of stream discharge
Drainage Basin and Stream Orders -
Shreve’s Method
 Whereas, Strahler’s stream orders are known to be
closely related to drainage basin morphometric
properties like:
- Network Properties:
* Drainage density
* Stream frequency
* Length of overland flow
- Areal Properties:
* Texture ratio
* Circulatory ratio parameter
* Elongation ratio
- Relief Properties:
* Basin relief, etc (see next slide complete list)
Drainage Basin and Morphometric Properties of Stream Networks
Stream Channel Flow
 Rivers flow from higher to lower elevations in
open channels subject to gravitational and
frictional resistance forces
 The force of gravity propels the water

downslope, while frictional forces prevent the
water from moving downslope due to water
viscosity and channel surface roughness
 In general, open channel flow may be turbulent

or laminar
Stream Channel Flow
 Laminar Flow: Thin
layers of water with
flow resistance caused
by molecular viscosity;
Occurs near channel
bed & sustained when
Reynold Number (Re) is 500.
Velocity Profiles of Laminar & Turbulent River Flows
 Turbulent Flow: Most

important flow in a river;
thicker chaotic flow layer
superimposed on the
forward flow of the river;
Frictional resistance is due
to molecular and eddy
viscosities; Occurs when Variables Used in describing Streamflow
Re > 2000; Re is 500 – 2000, laminar/turbulent flows are present

Stream Channel Flow
 In natural streams, flow
velocity controls the switch
between subcritical to
supercritical flow
 Hydraulic Jump is a sudden

change from supercritical to
subcritical flow causing a
stationary wave and increase
in stream depth
 Hydraulic Drop occurs when there is a change from

subcritical to supercritical causing a drop in stream
depth; Common in mountain streams and waterfalls
Stream Channel Flow
 Bedforms in a sandy alluvial channel change as the
Froude number (F) changes (see diagrams):
Source: Richard J. Huggett (2017)

Discharge and Open Channel Flow Hydraulics
 Discharge (Q) is the volume of water passing through a given river cross-
section per second and expressed in cubic meter/second (m3/s) or cubic
feet/second (ft3/s)
 Hence stream discharge (Q) is defined as:

Q = wdv
where w = channel width, d = channel depth, and
v = velocity
 Confirm that the

stream discharge
for the left
channel is 30 m3/s and
and that for the right channel is 180 m3/s
 Confirm that the stream discharge for the left channel

 Stream discharge in open channel is
subject to two principal forces:
- force of gravity propelling water down

slope to produce tractive force ():
 = yds
where:
y = specific weight of water (63.3 Ib/ft3 or
1000 kg/m3), d = depth & s = channel slope
- frictional resistance of water molecules

and/or water & channel boundaries
 thedifference between both forces

determines water flow velocity
 Chezyderived flow velocity equation

from both forces
 Chezy velocity (V) equation is given as:

___
V = C RS
where:
R = hydraulic radius (cross-section area
divided by wetted perimeter)
S = channel slope
C = smoothness coefficient
NOTE:
depth-slope product is related to tractive force
or shear force on the stream bed
 Manning'svelocity (V) equation is an

improvement on Chezy's and given
as:
1.49
V = ------ R2/3S1/2
n
where:
'n' = channel roughness factor
 And channel roughness is controlled

by:
- grain size of bed & bank material
- channel vegetation
- channel cross sectional form
- alignment of channel plan
 'n'is often calculated from median

grain diameter (D50) as follows:
n = 0.016D501/6
where:
D is measured in mm
 Stream power () is a measure of work expended or
energy loss of the stream
 Stream power () is given as:

 = yQs or
= ywdvs
 Stream power per unit channel width is:
ywdvs
 = ------- = ydsv
w
 Sincestream power is the product of

tractive force and velocity or
 = v = ydsv and
 Chezy equation tells us that V2  RS
 Therefore,   V3
Discharge and Open Channel Flow
Hydraulics
 Hence, a slight change in velocity greatly
increases the amount of work done in a stream
channel
 Stream energy is expended as follows:

- sediment transport = 3-5%
- frictional heat = 95%
Hydraulic Geometry and Downstream Change
 Stream discharge has a controlling influence on

channel form, flow resistance and flow velocity
 The concept of hydraulic geometry captures

this controlling influence as expressed in
stream discharge (Q) equation: Q = wdv
 Hydraulic geometry expresses the relationship

between average channel form and discharge
 According to Leopold and Maddock (1953),

stream channel forms (i.e., width, depth and
velocity) are expressed as the power function of
discharge (Q):
w = dQ b
d = cQ f
v = kQm
 Thus, as stream discharge at-a-station increases
the three channel forms will also increase
 According to Singh (2003), Manning’s

roughness factor and channel slope tend to also
change at-a-station as power function of stream
discharge
 As channel form (i.e., width, depth and

velocity) change in downstream direction,
stream discharge also increased downstream
 Downstream changes in channel form could also be

expressed as the power function of discharge (Q):
w = hQr
d = p Qs
v = nQt
 Thus, hydraulic geometry, both at-a-station and in
downstream direction, shows that the three
channel forms increased as stream discharge also
increased downstream
Downstream Changes in Channel Form With Increase in
Stream Discharge
Stream Channels and Stream Channel Patterns
 In general, streamflow is confined to a stream
channel
 A stream is an open channel flow consisting

of the streambed and channel bank keeping
streamflow within the channel, except during
floods
 There are two basic types of stream channels:

- Bedrock channels
- Alluvial channels
Bedrock Channels:
The river is eroded into hard bedrocks or a
thin layer of alluvium overly bedrock found
in mountain rivers in the headwaters of the
river system
The steep bedrock channel pattern is

strongly controlled by the underlying
geologic structure and develops a winding or
irregular channel patterns
 A symmetrically incised
meanders develop where
downcutting is faster
than lateral cutting as
seen in San Juan River,
Utah
 Asymmetrically ingrown meanders develop where sideways meandering is

faster than slow downcutting due to a regional uplift
 e river is eroded into hard bedrocks or a thin layer of alluvium overly

bedrock found in mountain rivers in the headwaters of the river system
 The steep bedrock channel pattern is strongly controlled by the underlying

geologic structure and develops a winding or irregular channel patterns
Alluvial Channels:
Alluvial channels are eroded into areas of deep alluvium
deposits
When the river valley is wide and alluvium deposits deep

enough, the stream can develop a floodplain with:
Bluffs, meandering
stream, oxbow lakes,
natural levee, alluvial
deposits, backswamp,
and a yazoo stream.
Alluvial Channels:
Alluvial stream channel patterns are determined
by:
- stream’s ability to transport its load at a
uniform rate with least energy
- size and type of sediment being transported
eroded into areas of deep alluvium deposits
Alluvialstream channels display four types of

stream channel patterns and they are:
- Straight stream channel pattern
- meandering stream channel pattern
Alluvial Channels:
Alluvial Stream Channel Patterns continued:
- Braided stream channel pattern
- Anastomizing stream channel pattern
Stream Channel Patterns
Straight Stream Channel Pattern:
A straight channel reach is rare in nature and
may be associated with rivers confined by fault
line or geologic structure
In low lying alluvial channel, a straight

channel often maintains a meandering thalweg
(i.e., deepest portion of the stream channel;
arrow paths a & b in next slide)
Thedividing line between straight and

meandering is defined by a sinuosity of 1.5
 Index of sinuosity is calculated as channel
length divided by valley length
Meandering Stream Channel Pattern:
A meandering stream snakes along the
floodplain and can be described using the
parameters shown on this slide below:
Water Flow in a Meandering Channel
 Water flow through a meander causes channel
bank erosion on the concave bank or on the
outside of the bend and deposition & formation
of point bars on the convex bank or inside of the
bend
 Meander wavelength is
10 times channel width
and about 5 times the
radius of curvature
Braided Stream Channel Pattern:
It is a depositional landform and forms where
sediment supply
is high enough to divide
the flow into several
braids by sand bars or
islands
The sand bars could be

stabilized by plant
growth
 Braided stream channel patterns are favored to
develop where:
- stream energy is high

- channel gradient is high
- sediment supply from hillslopes, tributaries,
and glaciers is high
- a large portion of coarse materials is
bedload
- channel bank is erodible and can shift easily
Anastomosing Stream Channel Pattern:
It is a stream channel branching out into
several distributaries which rejoin again
downstream
Itis a very rare channel pattern. According to

Richard J. Huggett (2017), only one
anastomosing channel in the United Kingdom
The Longitudinal Profile of Stream Channel From
Headwaters to Mouth
 The longitudinal profile of a river describes the stream
gradient from its source to mouth
 Rivers with increasing discharge

downstream tend to develop a
concave long profile
 The concave profile with a steep

gradient near its source allows
the increasing discharge and
deeper channel downstream to
transport its available load all the way to the ocean with
a progressively lower gradient toward the mouth
The Longitudinal Profile of Stream Channel From
Headwaters to Mouth
 But not all streams have a smooth concave profileand
may contain steeper or flatter or straighter sections for a
number of reasons:
- Outcrop of bedrocks
- Tectonic movement
- Drastic change in stream discharge
- Renewed valley development
Geomorphic Functions of Running Water:
 Running Water (Rivers) like other
denudational agents like Wind, Glacier, and
Ocean Waves, perform three basic functions
in sculpturing and producing landforms or
changing the landscapes
 These functions include:

- Fluvial Erosion
- Fluvial Transportation, and
- Fluvial Deposition
Geomorphic Functions of Running Water:
 The end-product of these functions is the
production of fluvial landforms;
 The next section discusses fluvial functions

and their resulting landforms:
- Fluvial Erosion and Fluvial Landforms
- Fluvial Transportation and Landforms
- Fluvial Deposition and Depositional
Landforms
Stream Erosion and Fluvial Landforms
 Stream erosion depends on channel slope, stream

discharge and resistance of bank and bed materials
 Alluvial channels are relatively easy to erode than

bedrock channels
 Sandy bank channels can easily be undercut to

cause bank materials to slump into the river adding
more erosive materials to the flow
-
 The baselevel of stream erosion is the lowest
elevation for stream downcutting. It controls
how deep a river can erode vertically
 Local baselevel: lake, bedrock, ponds, and local

river where main stream channel prevents its
tributaries flowing into them from cutting deeper
than its water level
 The ultimate baselevel of stream erosion is the

ocean or sea, hence no river can cut below sea
level
 Stream erosion is accomplished through three
processes:
- Quarrying
- Abrasion
- Corrosion
 Stream Quarrying: It involves the loosening of large

blocks of bed material through weathering and
entrainment of the block by running water
 Stream quarrying is more effective during floods

 Stream Abrasion: It involves the rubbing
bumping and scrapping of abrasive materials
being transported against channel bed and bank
or against each other
 Abrasion is responsible for the smoothening of

pebbles and particles moved by stream
 In bedrock stream beds, abrasion is responsible for

the formation of channel bed potholes by swirling
and eddies of fast moving flows charged with
abrasive particles (sinkhole image next slide
Stream Erosion Channel Bed Pothole
 Stream Corrosion: Carbonate bedrock channels
are subject to stream corrosion. It involves
chemical weathering by solution. The rocks
subject to dissolution are gradually dissolved
and moved solution load to the ocean
 Other erosional landforms include the

formation of rills (small gullies you can ride a
bicycle across) and gullies that form between
the interfluve (hilltop) and the beginning of a
first order stream. Gullies are important for
headward extension of rivers
Stream Transportation and Fluvial Landforms
 All streams transport materials and help in sorting
the materials enroute
 Stream transport materials in three ways as:

- Solution Load
- Suspension, and
- Bedload
 Solution Load: Groundwater and chemical
weathering are the major sources of solution load
 Suspension Load: Suspension load accounts for the

largest percentage of river transport and gives the
river its muddy appearance
Stream Transport and Fluvial Landforms
 Materials transported as suspension load include:
- fine sand
- silt and
- clay
 More suspension load is transported during the flood
season when stream velocity is higher and above the
settling (fall) velocity of the materials carried
 The fall velocity is the speed at which particle falls
through a still fluid and larger particles tend to
move faster to settle at channel floor
 Settling velocity is affected by shape and specific

gravity of the particle also. While flat particles
move slower than well rounded ones, heavier
particles faster than light ones to channel bed
 Bedload: Larger and heavier materials are
transported along channel bed as bedload by
saltation (bouncing along) or rolling or sliding
 A stream’s ability to transport materials are captured by
the concept of Stream Capacity and Competence
 Stream Capacity: It is the maximum load of solid particles

a stream can carry at a unit time. The higher the stream
discharge the higher the capacity to move materials; hence
higher flood discharge carries more load
 Stream Competence: It is stream’s ability to move particles

based on size. Stream competence increases with velocity
and discharge, hence larger materials (like boulders) are
moved during flood
Stream Deposition and Fluvial Landforms
 Stream deposition occurs when stream flow velocity
is lower than the settling or fall velocity of the
materials transported by the stream
 Based on the stream flow competence, the river

drops its largest particle load first and the finest
last, hence stream deposits are well sorted
 The sorting process has allowed different types of

channel bed reaches to develop from the headwater
to the mouth and they include:
- boulder channel bed reach
Stream Deposition and Fluvial Landforms
 - Gravel channel bed reach
- Sandbar channel bed reach, and
- Alluvium channel bed reach
 Stream deposition has produced notable landforms

that include:
- Floodplains
- Natural Levees
- River Deltas
- Alluvial Fans, and
- Terraces (erosion and deposition combined)
Stream Deposition and Floodplains
 Most rivers, especially alluvial channels, are
flanked by a fairly flat depositional land called
floodplain
 From the name, floodplains are flood lands partly

covered by floodwater in some years and fully
covered in historic floods (1993 Mississippi flood)
 Two types of floodplains:

(a) Convex floodplain
(along big rivers)
(b) flat floodplain
 Mos
(a) Convex Floodplain (Mississippi) (b) Flat Floodplain

Main Features of a Floodplain
Stream Deposition and Floodplains:
formation of Oxbow Lake
Stream Deposition and Floodplain:
Example: Oxbow Lake Or Cutoff Meander
Stream Deposition and Natural Levees
Stream Deposition and River Delta: Examples
Stream Deposition and River Delta
Locations of the World Largest Deltas and Deltaless Rivers
 A Delta is a depositional landform located at the
mouth of the river where it reaches the base level of
erosion (e.g., ocean, lake, and inland sea)
 The reduced stream flow at the base level of erosion

causes the stream to begin to deposit its sediment
load directly into the ocean or lake or sea water to
form the foreset bed of coarse particles
 The topset bed is the second layer of, perhaps, similar

materials deposited on top of the foreset and the
bottomset bed of silt and clay settles further away
from the mouth (see all 3 bedsets in next slide)
River Delta Deposited Beds: Topset, Foreset and
Bottomset
•During sediment deposition, the main stream

channel may become divided into several smaller
Stream Deposition and River Terraces
River Terraces:
According to Huggett (2017)
a river terrace is the remnant
of an old river valley floor.
They are two types of river

terraces:
- Bedrock Terraces
- Alluvial Terraces
Alluvial terrace is an old

alluvial valley floor vertically
cut by meandering river and filled to form a floodplain floodplain
by vertical
Stream Deposition and River Terraces
 An alluvial terrace forms from the old floodplain by:
- crustal uplift of the old floodplain or
- eustatic sea-level drop, or
- climate change
 Any of the above changes may cause the drop in base

level and renewed down cutting of the old floodplain
 Renewal of lateral erosion reduces the old floodplain

(terrace) and form new floodplain at the lower level
and the remnants of the old floodplain on both sides
of the river form paired river terraces
Rejuvenation of Floodplain River
 Floodplains are formed close to the base level
of erosion where active deposition is occurring
 Rejuvenation of an alluvial channel begins with

an uplift of the area and new base level of
erosion is re-established and channel down
cutting resumes to form entrenched meander
W.M. Davis Geographical Cycle of Erosion
River Floods and Flood Controls
 Whenever a river’s discharge exceeds its
maximum capacity, the excess water overflows the
banks to form River Flood
 The frequency and magnitude of river floods and all

other forms of flood are increasing in more recent
years for the following reasons:
- Increased severe storm effects of global
warming
- Human activities (deforestation, urbanization,
all construction activities, and so on)
- Poor flood management and adaptations
Flood Controls:
Structural Engineering Approach:
- Artificial Levees
- Channelization
- Flood Control Dams
Non-Structural Flood Control:
- Floodplain Management:
* Land use zoning regulations
* Working with flood zone residents to develop
proven and resilient flood adaptations
techniques
Locks and Dams – Flood Controls in U.S.A
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Why is river an important resource?
A. Used as transportation resource for moving people and goods
B. Most important denudational agent in sculpting and building
landforms
C. Part of the hydrological cycle involved recycling between the
ocean and continents
D. Major source of water for domestic and industrial purposes
E. All of the above
2. How does urbanization affect runoff and infiltration in a
previously forested drainage basin?
A. Both runoff and infiltration will decrease
B. Runoff will decrease and infiltration will increase
C. Both runoff and infiltration will increase
D. Infiltration will decrease and runoff will increase to cause
flood
E. All of the above
3. At the head of a river delta, the major river splits into smaller
channels that follow different paths to the sea. These
channels are known as_______
A. endotributries B. exotributaries
C. distributaries D. cotributaries E. None
4. Which one of the following statements correctly describes how
stream terraces are formed?
A. Base level drops, the stream aggrades its channel, and the
former floodplain is left below the present elevation of the stream
B. A temporary base level is eliminated, the stream down cuts
upstream from the old temporary base level, and the former
floodplain is left well above the present elevation
C. Base level rises, the stream down cuts, and the previous
floodplain is left well above the elevation of the present day
channel
D. A temporary base level is eliminated, the stream aggrades .its channel
upstream from the old base level , and the former is lift well above the
present elevation of the river
5. Which of the following statements is true concerning natural levee?
A. Depositional features formed at times of low discharge
B. Mostly fine sand and silt that builds up during floods
C. Erosional features left behind when meander cut-off occurs
D. Form the high , steep banks of a down cutting stream
E. Form at the base level of erosion
6. Which one of these statements would cause stream rejuvenation?
A. Sea level rise
B. A shift from downcutting to lateral cutting
C. Land uplift
D. When unstable distributaries of a delta are abandoned
E. A very severe drought year combined with El Nino
7. Which of the following features characterize wide alluvial
channels?
A. Natural Levees and broad floodplain
B. Rapids, Channel bed potholes
C. V-shaped valley cross-section
D. Waterfalls, entrenched meanders E. All of these answers
8. Point bars are depositional landforms located along the concave
bank or the outer portions of a meander bend
A. True B. False
9. Stream discharge is defined as the volume of water flowing past a
specific channel cross-section per unit time
A. True B. False
10. Urbanization lowers peak discharge on small streams by routing the
runoff directly to the stream
A. True B. False
11. Streams flowing for only a part of the year are_______.
A. Superimposed stream B. Consequent Stream
C. Intermittent stream D. Ephemeral stream
E. Antecedent stream
12. The most prominent of all fluvial depositional landforms is the____
A. Oxbow lake B. Meander scar C. Floodplain
D. Back swamp E. Point bar
13. _____make up the suspended loads of most rivers and streams
A. Dissolved ions and sand
B. Dissolved salts
C. Silt and clay-sized, detrital grains
D. Sand and gravel that move during floods
E. A and C
14. Which of the following must result in a lower base level for rivers
and streams.
A. Sea level drops, land subsides
B. Sea level falls, land rises
C. Sea level rises, land subsides
D. Sea level rises and land rises
15. ___ describes the total sediment load transported by a stream
A. Capacity B. Discharge C. Competence
D. Hydro-load factor
16. A ______ drainage pattern develops on land underlain by tilted or
folded, alternating hard and soft , sedimentary strata
A. Dendritic B. Radial C. Trellis D. Rectangular
E. Annular
17. _____ is an abandoned, cutoff meanders loop
A. A terrace B. A yazoo C. An Entrenched Meander
D. Ox-bow lake E. A distributary
18. The ____ river has the largest discharge of any in the world
A. Nile B. Mississippi C. Congo D. Amazon
E. Ohio
19. Which of the following flood controls is not a structural flood
control measures?
A. Channelization B. Flood Control Dams
C. Land use zoning D. Artificial Levees
20. Which of the following fluvial landform is NOT depositional in
origin?
A. Floodplain B. Natural levee C. Alluvial fans
D. River Delta E. Entrenched Meander
21. Which of the following beds of a river delta is likely the last to be
deposited?
A. foreset bed B. Bottomset bed C. Topset bed
D. Alluvial fan
22. Which of the following rivers has no delta?
A. Colorado River B. Mississippi River C. Nile River
D. Niger River E. Amazon River
23. Stream erosion is responsible for the following fluvial landforms,
except
A. Floodplains B. Rills C. Gullies
D. Channel bed pothole
24. According to stream ordering scheme by Strahler, a stream
segment without a tributary is
A. First-order stream segment B. Secord-order stream segment
C. Third-order stream segment D. Fourth-order stream segment
25. Braided stream channel patterns are favored to develop by the
following factors, except
A. High stream energy
B. High channel gradient
C. Low sediment supply from hillslopes, tributaries,
and glaciers
D. Large portion of coarse materials is bedload
E. Stream channel bank is erodible and can shift easily
26. What is this fluvial landform called?
A. Entrenched meander
B. A river terrace
C. Ox-box lake
D. Foreset bed
E. A yazoo stream channel

GEOG210N142017 - Running Water Final

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GEOG210N142017 - Running Water Final

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Topic 12 - Earth Surface Processes: Running Water

- Sources of River Water

- Channel Hydraulics: Stream Discharge,

 Rver Floods and Flood Controls

 A source of irrigation water for agriculture.

 A source of domestic and industrial water and

 Rain water or snow melt water gets to the river

Path 1 is Overland Storm Runoff

 Once rainfall intensity > infiltration capacity,

 When surface storages are exhausted, water

 Horton believed that sheet flow will occur

 But Betson (1964) argued that only a small

 Betson idea became known as the partial-area

 Hortonian Overland Storm flow is common in:

 Subsurface flow occurs

 Saturation overland flow

 It forms the base flow of rivers and keeps the

 For example: In humid areas, perennial rivers

 And when water table is far below the river

 Ephemeral rivers carry water during a rainstorm

 It is the land area where a river and all its

 It is defined by the basin

 Stream drainage pattern reflects the underlying

 The basic stream drainage patterns are:

Annular (ring) pattern develops on

 Stream ordering was first introduced by Robert Horton in 1945, modified

When a lower order stream meets a higher

When two second order streams meet, a third

A fourth order stream begins where two third

 Shreve defines stream

 The force of gravity propels the water

 In general, open channel flow may be turbulent

 Turbulent Flow: Most

Re > 2000; Re is 500 – 2000, laminar/turbulent flows are present

 Hydraulic Jump is a sudden

 Hydraulic Drop occurs when there is a change from

Source: Richard J. Huggett (2017)

 Hence stream discharge (Q) is defined as:

 Confirm that the

 Confirm that the stream discharge for the left channel

- force of gravity propelling water down

- frictional resistance of water molecules

 thedifference between both forces

 Chezyderived flow velocity equation

 Chezy velocity (V) equation is given as:

 Manning'svelocity (V) equation is an

 And channel roughness is controlled

 'n'is often calculated from median

 Stream power () is given as:

 Sincestream power is the product of

 Chezy equation tells us that V2  RS

 Stream energy is expended as follows:

 Stream discharge has a controlling influence on

 The concept of hydraulic geometry captures

 Hydraulic geometry expresses the relationship

 According to Leopold and Maddock (1953),

 According to Singh (2003), Manning’s

 As channel form (i.e., width, depth and

 Downstream changes in channel form could also be

 A stream is an open channel flow consisting

 There are two basic types of stream channels:

The steep bedrock channel pattern is

 Asymmetrically ingrown meanders develop where sideways meandering is

 e river is eroded into hard bedrocks or a thin layer of alluvium overly