GEO lab- Streams

sinuous channel sinuosity

1.3 to 1.5

drainage basins

also called watersheds, areas that drain to the valley

rectangular drainage

channels develop along perpendicular sets of rock fractures or joints

dendritic pattern

develop on flat lying or homogenous rock

annular pattern

develops on eroded domes or folds with resistant and nonresistant rock types

trellis pattern

develops on tilted layers of resistant and nonresistant rock

downstream changes

gradient and channel roughness will decrease and discharge, channel size and flow velocity will increase

meandering channel sinuosity

greater than 1.5

interfluve

higher land above valley walls that separates adjacent valleys

meandering channels

highly variable curvature

sinuous channel

irregular and gentle curvature that is sinuous in appearance

straight channel sinuosity

less than 1.3

sinuosity

measure of how much a stream channel meanders side to side length of A-B stream channel measured with curves divided by length A-B measured as a straight line

braided streams

multiple interwoven channels separated by loose bars or islands

where is the deposition concentrated along a meandering stream

on the inner banks of the meander loops

unchanneled downslope movement of water

overland flow

valley

portion of terrain in which a drainage system is established

straight channel

short and indicative of strong geologic structure control

a straight channel will have a ______ gradient than a meandering channel

smaller

any channeled flow of water is a

stream

channeled movement of water

stream flow

what is the drop is water surface elevation divided by the distance the water flows

stream gradient

oxbow

the abandoned, cutoff, meander loop of a stream

as gradient increases,

the sinuosity decreases

a _____ stream pattern develops on lands underlain by tilted or folded, alternating hard and soft, sedimentary strata

trellis

T or F: gradients usually decrease downstream in a major river system

true

T or F: the lower Mississippi River has the largest discharge of any river in North America

true

T or F: the lowest base level for most streams is sea level

true

channel shape =

wetted perimeter