River Basics
What is the starting point of a river called?
Source
The Great Salt Lake is an example of what type of lake?
Salt
What is the term for still or standing water environments?
Lentic
Which type of river is steep, fast-moving, and often has waterfalls or rapids?
Young River
The part of a river where sediment builds up into a triangle-shaped area.
Delta
What do we call the point where a river ends or flows into another body of water?
Mouth
Which type of lake forms when glaciers carve out depressions?
Glacial lake
Which zone of a lake is shallow, near the shore, and receives sunlight?
Littoral zone
Which type of river is slow-moving, flows through flat land, and has wide meanders?
Old River
What term describes flowing water environments like rivers and streams?
Lotic
A small stream that joins a larger one is called a ____.
Tributary
A lake created when a meandering river is cut off from the main flow is a ____.
Oxbow Lake
Which zone lies near the bottom and is dominated by decomposers?
Benthic Zone
A small stream that flows parallel to a main river channel is a ____.
Yazoo Stream
What connects a tributary to its main river?
Channel
When two rivers come together, the joining point is called the ____.
Confluence
Lakes that are low in nutrients but high in oxygen are called ____.
Oligotrophic lake
The process where excess nutrients lead to algal blooms and oxygen depletion is called ____.
Eutrophication
What small stream is smaller than a creek and often fed by one?
Brook
What happens to dissolved oxygen levels as water temperature increases?
They decrease
Which part of the river generally has the most diverse aquatic life?
Middle
A fan-shaped deposit of sediment formed where a river meets flatter land is a ____.
Alluvial fan
What is the name of the deepest, darkest layer of a lake with low life activity?
Profundal Zone
What is the scientific study of freshwater systems called?
Limnology
List the three stages of a river in order from highest to lowest elevation.
Young → Mature → Old