River mouth

A river mouth is the part of a river where the river flows into another river, a lake, a reservoir, a sea, or an ocean.

Water motion

The water from a river can enter the receiving body in a variety of different ways.[1] The motion of a river is influenced by the relative density of the river compared to the receiving water, the rotation of the earth, and any ambient motion in the receiving water, such as tides or seiches.

If the river water has a higher density than the surface of the receiving water, the river water will plunge below the surface. The river water will then either form an underflow or an interflow within the lake. However, if the river water is lighter than the receiving water, as is typically the case when fresh river water flows into the sea, the river water will float along the surface of the receiving water as an overflow.

Alongside these advective transports, inflowing water will also diffuse.

Landforms

At the mouth of a river, the change in flow condition can cause the river to drop any sediment it is carrying. This sediment deposition can generate a variety of landforms, such as deltas, sand bars, spits, and tie channels.[2]

Cultural influence

Many places in England take their names from their positions at the mouths of rivers, such as Plymouth (River Plym), Sidmouth (River Sid), and Great Yarmouth (River Yare).

See also

References

  1. ↑ Charles, Hogg, (2014-06-12). "The flow of rivers into lakes: Experiments and models". doi:10.17863/cam.32.
  2. ↑ Rowland, J. C.; Dietrich, W. E.; Day, G.; Parker, G. (2009). "Formation and maintenance of single‐thread tie channels entering floodplain lakes: Observations from three diverse river systems". Journal of Geophysical Research. 114 (F2). doi:10.1029/2008JF001073.
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