Gradients are typically the lowest at a river’s mouth, and highest at its headwaters. The higher the gradient, the faster the stream flows. Channel shape and texture. … Thus a stream’s velocity is greatest in a narrow, deep, smooth, and semicircular channel.
Where is the highest velocity in a river?
Stream velocity is greatest in midstream near the surface and is slowest along the stream bed and banks due to friction.
Where is stream velocity fastest?
1. Toward the middle of a river, water tends to flow fastest; toward the margins of the river it tends to flow slowest. 2. In a meandering river, water will tend to flow fastest along the outside bend of a meander, and slowest on the inside bend.
Why does the velocity of a river increase downstream?
Velocity increases as more water is added to rivers via tributary rivers. This means that less of the water is in contact with the bed of the river and the mouth so there is less energy used to overcome friction. Hence rivers flow progressively faster on their journey downstream.
Is flow velocity usually greater at the head or at the mouth of a stream?
Flow velocity is usually greater at the mouth of the stream than the head of the stream due to an increase in channel size, an increase in channel discharge, and a decrease in channel roughness near the mouth.
Where is discharge greatest in a river?
The base flow is the water that reaches the channel through slow throughflow and permeable rock below the water table. As stormwater enters the drainage basin the discharge rates increase. This is shown in the rising limb. The highest flow in the channel is known as the peak discharge.
What affects the velocity of a river?
The velocity of a river is determined by many factors, including the shape of its channel, the gradient of the slope that the river moves along, the volume of water that the river carries and the amount of friction caused by rough edges within the riverbed.
What are the three types of stream load?
Stream load is broken into three types: dissolved load, suspended load, and bed load (Ritter, 2006).
Which part of a stream flows the fastest?
If a stream is flowing along straight, the strongest, fastest flow will be in the center of the stream well above the bottom of the bed or channel but below the surface.
What happens when a stream slows down?
When a stream or river slows down, it starts dropping its sediments. Larger sediments are dropped in steep areas. Some smaller sediments can still be carried by a slow moving stream or river. Smaller sediments are dropped as the slope becomes less steep.
What are the 4 types of river erosion?
The four main types of river erosion are abrasion, attrition, hydraulic action and solution. Abrasion is the process of sediments wearing down the bedrock and the banks.
Why is a river wider at its mouth than at its source?
It’s well known that rivers increase in size as they transport water from their source in their headwaters to the mouth. The river channel becomes wider and deeper and as a result its cross-sectional area increases. … In the upper course of the river bedload is larger and more angular.
What three factors affect how fast a river flows?
What three factors affect how fast a river flows and how much sediment it can erode? A river’s slope, volume of flow, and the shape of its streambed.
What is the most common type of stream channel pattern?
A dendritic drainage pattern is the most common type. If a region is underlain by layered formations of rock that have been folded, and the layers have different degrees of resistance to erosion, the stream valleys will tend to follow the layers of less resistant rock, and the layers of harder rock will become ridges.
What is another term for stream sediment?
A term for a topographic high separating two drainage basins. What is another term for drainage basin? Watershed. What is another term for stream sediment? Alluvium.
What is the head of a stream?
The source of a river or stream is the original point from which the river flows. It may be a lake, a marsh, a spring or a glacier. This is where the stream starts. … The farthest stream is called the head-stream or head water.