Why do
river deltas form?
A river
winding its way down to the sea, from its mountain source, will inevitably
choose the lowest land through which to flow. By the time the river approaches
the sea the speed at which it is travelling will have decreased considerably,
thus allowing the water to drop its load of sediment and other solids.
These solid
particles (alluvium), therefore, form the land pockets which are characteristic
of the various branches of a river at this stage, it will wind its way round
any elevated land points rather than go over them.
Deltas are
most likely to form where the sea, into which the rivers flows, is particularly
calm for most of the year. Notably deltas in the world include the Mississippi
(the largest) the Ganges, and the Nile. A delta is so called because it is the
name of the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet whose shape it resembles.
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