Investigation 6: Deltas and Flood Plains

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To learn more about the movement of sediment by rivers, visit the following web sites:

Earth's Water: Rivers and Sediment, USGS
A brief discussion of sediment transport

Field Exercise: Stream Flow Dynamics and Sedimentation, Society for Sedimentary Geology
Provides a lab idea for helping students to understand stream flow.

Streams and Drainage Systems, Tulane University
Read an overview of many of the topics covered in this chapter, including particle size changes downstream (see the "Changes Downstream" section).


To learn more about river valleys and flood plains, visit the following web sites:

Earth's Water: Rivers and the Landscape, USGS
Review some basic concepts about the role of rivers in shaping rocks and landforms.

Floods and Flood Plains, USGS
A USGS publication that gives very basic information on flooding and flood plains.

Chesapeake Bay Flooding, USGS
A USGS web site that details the effects of a 1996 flood on the Chesapeake Bay that resulted when temperatures rose and rain fell after a major blizzard on the east coast of the United States. This brief fact sheet emphasizes how different Earth systems interact during a flood - hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.


To learn more about deltas, visit the following web sites:

Deltas, University of Oregon
Includes a pictures of deltas.


Find a topographic map showing a river flowing to the ocean

How To Find a Map

IES Rocks and Landforms Cover image
AGI/It's About TIme
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AGI's professional development programs for teachers are supported by generous contributions from corporate contributors of the American Geosciences Institute Foundation and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation.