Warmup

1. Define river.

2. how are rivers classified?

4.1 Rivers
Water Cycle
The water cycle is the continuous
movement of Earths water from the
ocean to the atmosphere to the land and
back to the ocean.
Precipitation- Evaporation-
is rain, snow, takes place
sleet or hail when water
from clouds from Earths
onto Earths surface
surface. changes into
water vapor.

Runof-
Infiltration- precipitation
downward that flows over
movement of land into
water through streams and
the pores and Condensation- takes place when rivers. This
other spaces water vapor cools and changes water usually
found in soil. into water droplets that form enters oceans.
clouds in the atmosphere.
Watershed- A
region of land where
water flows down into
a specified body, such
as a river, lake, sea, or
ocean; or drainage
basin.

Watersheds are separated

from each other by an area
of higher ground called a
divide
 Rivers
A channel is the path
that a stream follows.
When the channel
becomes wider and
deeper due to erosion,
rivers eventually form.

Gradient- is the measure

of the change in elevation
over a certain distance.
Gradient effects erosion
rates
Tributary- a stream
that flows into a lake
or into a larger
stream.
Discharge- The amount of water
that a stream or river carries in a
given amount of time

Load- The material carried by

a stream or river are called its
load. Fast moving streams or
rivers carry larger particles and
slower moving streams carry
smaller particles
A rivers current slows when
a river empties into a large
body of water, such as a lake
or an ocean
As its current slows, a river
often deposits its load in a
fan-shaped pattern called a
delta
When a fast-moving mountain
stream flows onto a flat plain, the
stream slows down very quickly
As the stream slows down, it
deposits sediment
The sediment forms an alluvial fan
Unlike deltas, alluvial fans form on
dry land
The area along a river that forms from sediment
deposited when a river overflows its bank is called a
floodplain
Floodplains are rich farming areas because periodic
flooding brings new soil to the land
Floods can damage property and cause a loss of lives