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In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as banks in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongside the bed of a river, creek, or stream. [1] The bank consists of the sides of the channel, between ...
Cut banks along the Cut Bank Creek. A cut bank, also known as a river cliff or river-cut cliff, is the outside bank of a curve ( meander) in a water channel ( stream ), which is continually undergoing erosion. [1] Cut banks are found in abundance along mature or meandering streams, they are located opposite the slip-off slope on the inside of ...
River bank failure can be caused when the gravitational forces acting on a bank exceed the forces which hold the sediment together. Failure depends on sediment type, layering, and moisture content. [1] All river banks experience erosion, but failure is dependent on the location and the rate at which erosion is occurring. [2]
Meander. A stream bed following a tilted valley. The maximum gradient is along the down-valley axis represented by a hypothetical straight coast channel. Meanders develop, which lengthen the course of the stream, decreasing the gradient. A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse.
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. [2] In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a riparian zone. The word riparian is derived from Latin ripa, meaning "river bank".
A point bar is a depositional feature made of alluvium that accumulates on the inside bend of streams and rivers below the slip-off slope. Point bars are found in abundance in mature or meandering streams. They are crescent-shaped and located on the inside of a stream bend, being very similar to, though often smaller than, towheads, or river ...
A levee ( / ˈlɛvi / or / ˈlɛveɪ / ), [1] dike ( American English ), dyke ( Commonwealth English ), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure used to keep the course of rivers from changing and to protect against flooding of the area adjoining the river or coast. It is usually earthen and often runs parallel to the course of a ...
The Mississippi River [b] is the primary river, and second-longest river, of the largest drainage basin in the United States. [c] [15] [16] From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,340 miles (3,766 km) [16] to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico.