what is delta ? explain its formation.
Answers
##Deltas are formed at the end of rivers (river mouth) as it flows into the sea.
##Rivers carry a lot of sediment (mud).
##The river flows into a calm sea.
##This slows the river down
Which makes the river drop its sediment.
##This deposited sediment builds up over years creating a delta.
##The river is forced to split up.
##The smaller rivers made by deltas are called distributaries.
##Examples of Deltas are Nile Delta, Ganges Delta.
A delta is a land form comprised of sediments found at the mouth of the river. A delta can only form when river channels carry sediments into another body of water. Herodotus, a Greek historian, first used the term "delta" for the Nile River in Egypt. This is because the sediment land mass developed at mouth of this river formed a triangular shape that looks like the upper case Greek letter delta.
Unlike other landforms affected by water current, a delta is not mainly created because of erosion of land surface caused by the force of wind and water. As the river channel flows over the ground and makes contact with soil, it carries with it sediments like gravel, sand, silt and clay. When a river channel encounters another body of water, it loses it speed and deposits such sediments onto a flat area. The sediment deposited by this running water is called Alluvium. These sediments pile up into several layers called beds. The delta becomes a main channel that divides substantial land masses into various streams called distributaries. These distributaries appear like a maze of water channels.
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