Stream Types Of Water Streams Parts Of A Stream Intermittent

In the United States, an intermittent stream is one that only flows for part of the year and is marked on topographic maps with a line of blue dashes and dots. In desert areas of the American Southwest, this also includes washes which only flow after thunderstorms or other significant rainRain is a form of precipitation, as are snow, sleet, hail, and dew. Rain forms when separate drops of water fall to the Earth's surface from clouds. Not all rain reaches the surface, however; some evaporates while falling through dry air, a type of precips. A blue-line stream is one which flows for most or all of the year and is marked on topographic maps with a solid blue line. In AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring count, an intermittent stream is usually called a creek, and marked on topographic maps with a solid blue line.

Generally, streams that form only during and immediately after precipitation are termed ephemeral.

4 Ranking

Streams in geographic terms are awarded order designations. A stream of the first order is a blue-line stream which does not have any other blue-line stream feeding into it. A stream of the second order is one which is formed by the joining of two or more blue-line streams. A third-order stream is one below the confluence of two or more second-order streams; a fourth-order stream is formed by the confluence of at least two third-order streams, and so forth.

5 Profile

Typically, streams are said to have a particular profile, beginning with steep gradientMultivariate calculus In vector calculus, gradient is a vector-valued operator that acts on a scalar field. The gradient of a scalar field is a vector field called gradient field which shows its rate and direction of change. For example, consider a room.s, no flood plainFlood Plain along Lynches River Johnsonville, South CarolinaShowing high water mark on tupelo and cypress trees In geography, a flood plain is a plain formed of sediment, typically dropped by a river. When the slope down which a river runs has become very, and little shifting of channelFor the geographical meanings of this word, see channel (geography). In communications, a channel is the "path" or "route" which a message follows, as it is transmitted between a communication source and a receiver. More specifically, in telecommunications, eventually evolving into streams with low gradients, wide flood plains, and extensive meanderThe word meander has a number of senses. Some places in Tasmania, Australia: Meander, Tasmania Meander River, Tasmania Meander Valley A bend in a river, also known as an oxbow loop. This usage derives from the name of the Maeander River in Turkey. To means. The initial stage is sometimes termed a "young" stream, and the later state a "mature" or "old" stream. However, a stream may meander for some distance before falling into a "young" stream condition.

6 Gradient

The gradient of a stream is a critical factor in determining its character, and is entirely determined by its base levelIn geology, the base level of a river or stream is the lowest point to which it can flow. For large rivers, sea level is usually the base level, but a large river or lake is likewise the base level for tributary streams. A rather rare exception can be see of erosionErosion is the displacement of solids ( soil, mud, rock, and so forth) by the agents of wind, water, ice, or movement in response to gravity. Although the processes may be simultaneous, erosion is to be distinguished from weathering, which is the decompos. The base level of erosion is the point at which the stream either enters the ocean, a lake or pond, or enters a stretch in which it has a much lower gradient, and may be specifically applied to any particular stretch of a stream. In geologic terms, the stream will erode down through its bed to achieve the base level of erosion throughout its course. If this base level is low, then the stream will rapidly cut through underlying strata and have a steep gradient, and if the base level is relatively high, then the stream will form a flood plain and meanders.

7 Waterfalls

When a stream flows over an especially resistant stratum and forms a waterfall or cascade, or the same results because for some reason the base level of erosion suddenly drops, perhaps as a result of a fault, the resulting sudden change in stream elevation is called a nickpoint. The stream, of course, expends kinetic energy in "trying" to eliminate the nickpoint.

8 Meanders

Meanders are looping changes of direction of a stream. These may be somewhat sine-wave in form. Typically, over time, the meanders don't disappear but gradually migrate downstream. However, if some resistant material slows or stops the downstream movement of a meander, a stream may erode through the neck between two legs of a meander to become temporarily straighter, leaving behind an arc-shaped body of water termed an oxbow lake or bayou. A flood may also result in a meander being cut through in this way.

9 Watersheds

The entire basin drained by the stream is termed the watershed. Every watershed is made up of smaller watersheds, while most watersheds are parts of larger watersheds. For instance, the Continental Divide in North America divides the Atlantic Ocean watershed from the Pacific Ocean watershed, but the Atlantic Ocean watershed may be first divided into the Atlantic Ocean drainage and the Gulf of Mexico drainage. This delineation within the United States is termed the Eastern Continental Divide. The Gulf of Mexico watershed may be divided into Mississippi River basin and a number of smaller watersheds, such as the Tombigbee River watershed.

The Mississippi River watershed includes the Ohio River watershed, which in turn includes the Kentucky River watershed, and so forth.

10 Mouth and delta

The point at which a stream empties into an ocean or other large body of relatively level water is termed the mouth. There may often be an estuary or delta at the mouth.

11 Underground streams

Some streams flow underground through unconsolidated sediments or through caves. Especially with caves, a stream may flow aboveground for part of its course, and underground for part of its course. When a stream emerges from an underground course, it is termed a spring.

12 Hydrology

The study of streams and waterways in general is known as surface hydrology and is important in environmental geography or environmental geology.

13 See also

Rivers Water streams

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Home > Stream

1 Types of water streams

2 Parts of a stream

3 Intermittent and ephemeral streams