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The dead zone at the outlet of the Mississippi River is a consequence of nitrates from fertilizer being carried off agricultural fields and funnelled down the river system to the Gulf of Mexico. Runoff also plays a part in the carbon cycle, again through the transport of eroded rock and soil. [30]
Rivers are part of the water cycle, the continuous processes by which water moves about Earth. [3] This means that all water that flows in rivers must ultimately come from precipitation . [ 3 ] The sides of rivers have land that is at a higher elevation than the river itself, and in these areas, water flows downhill into the river. [ 4 ]
Dendritic drainage: the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tibet, seen from space: snow cover has melted in the valley system. In geomorphology, drainage systems, also known as river systems, are the patterns formed by the streams, rivers, and lakes in a particular drainage basin. They are governed by the topography of land, whether a particular region is ...
The terms river morphology and its synonym stream morphology are used to describe the shapes of river channels and how they change in shape and direction over time. The morphology of a river channel is a function of a number of processes and environmental conditions, including the composition and erodibility of the bed and banks (e.g., sand, clay, bedrock); erosion comes from the power and ...
The stream order or waterbody order is a positive whole number used in geomorphology and hydrology to indicate the level of branching in a river system.. There are various approaches [1] to the topological ordering of rivers or sections of rivers based on their distance from the source ("top down" [2]) or from the confluence (the point where two rivers merge) or river mouth ("bottom up" [3 ...
Rivers even help keep the aquifers underground full of water by discharging water downward through their streambeds. In addition to that, the oceans stay full of water because rivers and runoff continually refreshes them. [1] Streamflow is the main mechanism by which water moves from the land to the oceans or to basins of interior drainage.
In doing so, the water goes through different forms: liquid, solid and vapor. The ocean plays a key role in the water cycle as it is the source of 86% of global evaporation. [2] The water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes. When water evaporates, it takes up energy from its surroundings and cools the ...
The river system, especially the Mississippi River, was used by Union armies as a means of invading and was host to several large battles during the U.S. Civil War. Mark Twain is regarded as having a large impact on molding U.S. literature into what it is today because of his profound works on adventures and life on the rivers. [20]