Stream Features
Regents Earth Science
With Ms. Connery
LAB 3 - How long is a Day?
making time calculations!
SUNRISE
W 10/29
Seasons
Greetings!
06 :33
SUNSET
17:02
ESRT - What are the major
streams of NYS and which
way do they flow??
Let’s draw a conceptual model
Why are there streams?
• Runoff  surface water
• Infiltration  groundwater
• Streams are a combination of both
What factors determine whether water infiltrates or
runs off the land surface to form a stream?
Characteristic
GROUNDCOVER
• VEGETATED
HIGH
INFILTRATION
LOW
INFILTRATION
HIGH
RUN-OFF
X
• PAVED
SLOPE of the LAND (water speed)
• STEEP SLOPE
LOW
RUN-OFF
X
X
X
X
X
• GENTLE SLOPE
X
X
SOIL PERMEABILITY
• HIGH PERMEABILITY
X
X
• LOW PERMEABILITY
X
X
SOIL SATURATION
• SATURATED or VERY DRY
X
X
• MODERATE SATURATION
X
X
Key points…
 What are some key erosional
and depositional features of
running water?
Where do we find different size
sediments in a stream?
What are the ages of a stream
and their characteristics?
In the stream speed lab
you mostly thought about
water levels causing
different speeds (like during
floods & droughts) but
there are other reasons for
speed change and erosion
and deposition!
Cut bank (erosion) and point bar (depositi
Point Bar
If the speeds are different, what does the stream
channel look like on straight-aways and curves?
What does the channel,
erosion, and deposition look
like on a major river?
Using the stream table, you
should be able to describe









headwaters (source)
tributary
channel
flood plain
erosion zones
deposition zones
stream meanders
cut bank
point bar
 undercutting
 sediment sorting by
water speed
 sediment sorting by
location (slope)
 deltas
 basin
 mouth
 braided streams
Oxbow lake, cut-offs, and flood plain of a
meandering stream
Meandering
Stream (it’s a
good old
stream)
Mississippi River Delta forms
Mississippi
River
Delta
Mississippi Delta
Alluvial fan
Braided
stream in
alluvial fan
at mouth of
river
Streams at different “ages”
have different characteristics
YOUTHFUL
• Steep gradient
• Faster water
• Waterfalls &
rapids
• V-shape channel
• Few floodplains
• Straighter
• Lots of erosion
MATURE-OLD STREAMS
•
•
•
•
•
Gentle gradient
Slower water
Many tributaries
Meanders
Flatter & wider
channel
• Floodplains
• Lots of deposition
Youthful age
stream
Youthful Stream Stage
Mature Stream Stage
Mature Stage stream –
Susquehanna River
Rio
Grande
Nile
River
from
Apollo
9
Old Age Stream
Mississippi River – Old Age Stage
TIGRIS - EUPHRATES RIVER
AMAZON RIVER
You know the
speed of the
stream
determines the
size of
sediments that
are moving or
settling out of
the stream.
Speed of erosion & deposition
relate to the speed of the water
CONDITION
HIGH EROSION RATE
FAST WATER
SLOW WATER
x
LOW EROSION RATE
x
HIGH DEPOSITION RATE
x
LOW DEPOSITION RATE
x
The SEDIMENT also affects the rate of
deposition in a stream.
What are some characteristics of sediment?
Think back to the bucket of unsorted sediments!
Lab 7 – Journey’s End
How does sediment settle?
OBJECTIVES
 Collect and analyze settling rate data for various
sediments
 Apply this analysis to the real world where
erosion and deposition occur along streams
REMEMBER
you can only change one
thing at a time when you
write your procedure
Settling Rate vs. Settling Time Graphs
VERTICAL SORTING of sediments
during DEPOSITION
Horizontal sorting, deposition, and water speed
Draw horizontal sorting
(based on water speed and hill slope)
Key points…
 What are some key erosional
and depositional features of
running water?
Where do find different size
sediments in a stream?
What are the ages of a stream
and their characteristics?