Glossary of River Terms

alluvial Alluvial means deposited by running water.	banks Banks are the sides of a river or stream between which the water normally flows.	bed The bed (also called the river bed) is the bottom of the river (or other body of water).	brackish Beackish water is water that is saltier than river water but less salty than sea water.
channel A channel is an area that contains flowing water confined by banks.	channeled Channeled means grooved or cut deeply.	delta A delta is a large, silty area at the mouth of a river at which the river splits into many different slow-flowing channels that have muddy banks. New land is created at deltas. Deltas are often triangular-shaped, hence the name (the Greek letter 'delta' is shaped like a triangle).	effluent Effluent is wastewater (like sewage water or factory runoff) that flows from a factory or other facility.
estuary An estuary is the area where a river meets the sea or ocean, where fresh water from the river meets salt water from the sea.	headwaters Headwaters are streams and rivers (tributaries) that are the source of a stream or river.	hydrologic cycle The hydrologic cycle is another name for the water cycle.	meander Something that meanders follows a winding path.

mouth The mought is the end of a river, where it empties into a large body of water.

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a stagnant lake that is formed alongside a winding river when the river changes path because of soil erosion, leaving an abandoned stream channel, cut off from the rest of the river.

rill A rill is a very small channel of water, caused mainly by runoff water that eroded the soil.

riparian Riparian means located by the banks of a river, stream, or other body of water.

river A river is a large, flowing body of water that usually empties into a sea or ocean.	riverbed A riverbed is the bottom of the river (or other body of water).	riverine Riverine means relating to, similar to, or formed by a river.	runoff Runoff is water that drains into a river (or other body of water) from uncontrolled streams, drains, or sewage lines. There is runoff from agricultural irrigation water, snowmelt, storms, etc.
salinity Salinity is the amount of salt dissolved in water.	sediment Sediment is small particles of soil or rocks that are transported by water or the wind.	silt Silt is very tiny particles of soil or rocks that are 3 to 60 micrometers in diameter.	siltation Siltation is the deposit or accumulation of very tiny soil particles (silt).
source The source is the beginning of a stream or river.	tributary A tributary is a river or stream that flows into another stream, river, or lake.	trunk The trunk is the main course of river.	water cycle The water cycle the natural cycle in which the sun's energy evaporates water into the atmosphere, and the water vapor condenses, returning to the Earth as precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, etc.).
waterfall A waterfall is a sudden drop in a river as it flows over a rock cliff. This happens when the river passes from a layer of hard rock to a layer of softer rock, and the water erodes away the softer rock.	watershed A watershed is the term given to the land that drains water into a particular stream, lake, or river.