Parts of the river and their characteristics

Image: EducAnimando

Could you tell us the parts that a river has and the characteristics of the different types of rivers that exist? Surely not and, therefore, in this lesson we are going to help you to better understand these natural formations that are distributed throughout our planet. If you want to know more about rivers, you cannot miss this lesson from a PROFESSOR, in it we will make a perfect outline with the most important sections that You must know about the morphology of rivers: from their definition, through their parts and ending with the different types that exist within our planet Land.

Index

1. Definition of RIVER
2. Parts of a river
3. The different types of river

In the first place we must know the exact meaning of the main word of our subject to be discussed. The official meaning of River It is the natural stream of fresh water that flows continuously and that ends or dies in a sea, a lake or in another river, being denominated in this case with the affluent word.

Now we begin to analyze the parts of the river and their characteristics so that you can properly perform your duties. The river, from its source to its death, goes through a series of stages, making more or less all the rivers similar from that point of view:

High course

It is located in the area of ​​its birth, that is to say, we normally associate it with escaped or mountainous areas, with slopes much larger than in other areas. Due to the latter, the waters that we will find there will go down said terrain with a certain speed and at Because of this, it will be normal to find the dragging of elements of the terrain, in addition to being able to observe a more erosion strong.

It is also usually the place where we can find more frequently the so-called waterfalls, waterfalls or waterfalls (depending on of the slope of the terrain) and also at the moment through which the rapids can be observed, areas where the water passes very fast.

Middle course

It will be a time when the waters of the rivers pass in a more moderate way and where the main characteristic that we are going to find will be the so-called meanders or curves that are produced to avoid obstacles in the terrain that water cannot naturally cross.

On the other hand it is usually the place where tributaries usually deposit their waters to the main river and where we will also find the dragging of eroded materials from the upper course.

On many occasions it is also the place chosen by the territories to create the reservoirs (especially at the beginning of the course) in order to control the waters so that they do not cause floods.

Lower course of the river

It is the part of the river where we will find the mouth of this. It is a stage by which the river normally widens considerably and in which its waters tend to go at a very slow speed. This will cause the water to deposit the entrained materials, producing sediments in their shores, which can lead to the creation of deltas or sedimentary islands at the end of the course of this.

Image: on this side of the forest

Now what we already know the parts of the river we are going to know the characteristics of this since, depending on the flow, morphology, waters, geometry and activity we will find different types of rivers such as the following:

Seasonal rivers

They are rivers that depend on the seasons of the year, for which we will find drought seasons with times where the flow due to the rains is very nourished. They tend to belong to mountainous areas although on some occasions we can find them in the lower areas (everything will depend on the climate of the terrain).

Perennial rivers

They are rivers that throughout the year they hardly change their flow and the main characteristic of these is that they are usually in areas with high rainfall.

Allochthonous rivers

They are rivers that they cross large desert or arid areas, although its birth occurs in mountainous places with large amounts of rainfall. The great examples of these are the Nile River and Colorado.

Transitory rivers

They belong to desert or very dry areas, therefore its flow will be very variable throughout the year. On some occasions we will find that they travel several kilometers and then disappear for several months until it reappears after the appearance of rainfall. They are quite dangerous rivers because with such a difference in flow in a short time, they usually cause large floods.

Meandering rivers

They are rivers that create one or more meanders throughout their lives, thus creating a very sinuous shape.

Anatomical rivers

It has several channels and they are capable of transporting a large amount of sediment, they have very little force and therefore it is very normal that they create a series of sedimentary islands at their He passed.

Rectilinear rivers

They are formed by a large canal and some small forks that are quite unstable. Due to their type of fast currents, they have great erosion capacity.

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