River erosion: what is, types, consequences and examples

To start this topic, we will first talk about the definition of river erosion and its characteristics. We can say that this type of erosion is the Earth’s surface wear produced by channeled water in river watersthat is, river water and also in streams, torrents or other water stream. The moving water constitutes a powerful agent capable of modifying the relief and the different geoforms that originate its passage make up the River relief.

In addition, the passage of water drags sediments and other materials, modifying its distribution in the earth’s crust. This drag process is known as river transport and precisely the material that drags the water is called load and classified as:

• Dissolution loads: They are those particles that dissolve in the water, therefore it has a transparent color.
• Suspension charges: They are the particles that remain in suspension, originating murky waters.
• Fund loads: They are larger rock fragments, which remain at the bottom of the bed and are transported by rolling, dragging or jumping.

As a synthesis, Causes of river erosion They are related to water energy when it is in motion. However, the speed that water acquires is not constant along the channel, so we will tell you the different phases of river erosion:

• Mechanical phase: It occurs at the highest levels of the water body. Here the current has great speed and consequently the greatest wear of the rocks by mechanical action occurs.
• Intermediate phase: As the name implies, it occurs at the intermediate levels of the water body. In this phase, erosion continues by mechanical action, but when registering lower current speed, sedimentation begins.
• Sedimentary phase: It happens in the final part of the water body. There comes all eroded material and, due to the lowest speed of water, sediments are deposited. Here we find on sedimentary rocks: types, classification and examples.

We also recommend reading this other article about what is erosion of the soil, its causes and consequences.

Now that we know What is and what is river erosionwe will enter the subject more and we will tell you the different Types of river erosion that exist:

General erosion

It is a decrease in the river bed produced by an increase in the transport capacity of a current during a flood.

Erosion for narrowing of the channel

Occurs mainly in those segments of the channel in which an engineering work such as bridges or channeling was carried out. In this way, when the channel is reduced, the speed of the current and also the transport of sediments increases.

Erosion for Cauce Curve

It is common that in the curves of the channels, there is a centrifugal force of the water that consequently increases the erosion of the bed. There are greater depths.

Local or localized erosion

It is produced by singularities or obstacles present in the channels. These can cause changes in water flow, increasing their erosive power. However, in this type of erosion the general conditions of the water flow are not modified.

The reliefs formed by river erosion They are one of the consequences of this process. However, we must mention that within the river processesfluvial floods also occur, which are overflows of rivers that cause excessive water content around the channels. The river floods Not only wear out the surface of the banks but also, according to the geographical location where they happen, they can cause large economic losses and even fatal disasters. Without a doubt, moving water has enormous power that goes beyond the formation of the relief.

Finally, in this section we will briefly describe some Examples of river erosion:

Meanders

It occurs as a result of sediment drag. These begin to be deposited in the middle course, where the speed of water begins to decrease. Under certain circumstances, the erosive force also acts on these deposits, wearing them and transporting them to other parts of the course. As a result, deposits are formed in a sinuous way that we call meanders.

In this other article we tell you more about what a member is, its characteristics, training and types.

Deltas

The deltas coincide with the end of the erosive process and take place at the mouth of the water courses. There is the greatest decantation of the sediments dragged. Therefore, deltas are sedimentary land.

River terraces

Also called alluvial terraces, they are sedimentary platforms in the river valleys, which are formed by the sediment tank in those parts of the water course where the slope and, therefore, the speed of the current is lower.

Now that you have learned all this about river erosion, we encourage you to continue discovering information about this type of processes with these other ecology articles about erosion and water erosion types: types, causes and consequences.

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