LAB MODULE 16: FLUVIAL PROCESSES AND LANDSCAPES

Note: Please refer to the GETTING STARTED module to learn how to maneuver through, and how to answer the lab questions, in the Google Earth (GE.png) component.

KEY TERMS
You should know and understand the following terms:

Alluvial fan
Drainage divide
Oxbow Lake
Basin
Drainage pattern
Sinuosity
Braided streams
Entrenched meander
Stream discharge
Cutbanks
Hydrograph
Stream order
Delta
Meandering river
Watershed
Drainage density
Meander scar



LAB LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After successfully completing this module, you should be able to do the following tasks:
  • Describe the concepts of sub-basins and watersheds
  • Identify different human water uses of a river
  • Construct a stream order for a river system
  • Compute drainage density of a given basin
  • Identify drainage patterns of river networks
  • Explain how braided rivers and meandering rivers are formed
  • Identify the physical features common to a meandering river system
  • Describe the physical conditions necessary to form alluvial fans