The buildup of a landform at a river's mouth as it loses velocity entering a standing body of water and deposits its sediment load faster than waves and currents can remove it. Delta shape reflects the balance between river sediment supply and the reworking power of waves and tides, producing arcuate, bird's-foot and estuarine forms among others.
Facts
Partially Attested
Process TypeThe source describes river-borne sediment deposition at the river mouth but does not name the atlas process-type category. Timescale
Timescale (category) Delta Formation
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Source Danube Delta (Wikipedia)
Source River delta (Wikipedia)
Source Distributary (Wikipedia)
Source Fly River (Wikipedia)
Source Ganges Delta, Wikipedia
Source Irrawaddy Delta (Wikipedia)
Source Mississippi River Delta, Wikipedia
Source Wikipedia, Nile Delta
Source Wikipedia, Okavango Delta
Source Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta (Wikipedia)
Source Sundarbans (Wikipedia)
Source Ganges (Wikipedia)
Source The Low Countries (Wikipedia)
Source Nile (Wikipedia)
Source Ural (river) (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. River delta (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia infobox 'Lead section' = 'A river delta is a landform, typically triangular, created by the d...' on 'River delta'View the Source 2. River delta (Wikipedia)
Lead paragraph
A river delta is a landform, typically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water.
Shaped: Delta, Article text
A river delta is a landform, typically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water.
View the SourceGanges Delta, Wikipedia
Shaped: Ganges Delta, LeadQuote, Shaped: Ganges Delta, Lead
The Ganges Delta (also known the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta, the Sundarbans Delta or the Bengal Delta) is a river delta predominantly covering the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent
View the Source The Low Countries (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: The Low Countries, LeadQuote, Shaped: The Low Countries, Lead
The Low Countries is a historical and geographically coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower basin of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta
View the Source Ganges (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: The Ganges, Formation statement for target 287621Quote, Shaped: The Ganges, Formation statement for target 287621
The Ganges Delta, formed mainly by the large, sediment-laden flows of the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, is the world's largest delta, at about 64,000 km2 (25,000 sq mi).
View the Source Danube Delta (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Danube Delta, Formation statement for target 287621Quote, Shaped: Danube Delta, Formation statement for target 287621
Upon filling the bay with sediment, the delta advanced outside this barrier-blocked estuary after 3500 BC, building several successive lobes
View the Source Ural (river) (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Ural River, Formation statement for target 287621Quote, Shaped: Ural River, Formation statement for target 287621
This type of delta forms naturally in the slow rivers which deliver a great deal of sediments and flow into a quiet sea.
View the Source Fly River (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Fly River, Formation statement for target 287621Quote, Shaped: Fly River, Formation statement for target 287621
Seismic profiles and radiometrically dated core samples indicate that the delta is prograding seawards at an average rate of about 6 m/a
View the Source Irrawaddy Delta (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Irrawaddy Delta, Formation statement for target 287621Quote, Shaped: Irrawaddy Delta, Formation statement for target 287621
As a result of constant accretion into the sea, the delta is advancing at a rate of 5-6 kilometres (3.1-3.7 mi) per 100 years, equivalent to about 1,000 hectares per year.
View the Source Distributary (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Distributary, Formation statement for target 287621Quote, Shaped: Distributary, Formation statement for target 287621
Distributaries are a result of river bifurcation and are often found where a river approaches a lake or an ocean and divides into distributary networks; as such they are a common feature of river deltas.
View the Source Wikipedia, Nile Delta
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Nile Delta, Lead paragraphQuote, Shaped: Nile Delta, Lead paragraph
The Nile Delta (Arabic: دلتا النيل, Delta an-Nīl or simply الدلتا, ad-Delta) is the delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea.
View the Source Wikipedia, Okavango Delta
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Okavango Delta, Lead paragraphQuote, Shaped: Okavango Delta, Lead paragraph
The Okavango Delta or Okavango Grassland is a vast inland delta in Botswana formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough at an elevation of 930-1,000 m (3,050-3,280 ft) in the central part of the endorheic basin of the Kalahari Desert.
View the Source Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta, Lead paragraphQuote, Shaped: Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta, Lead paragraph
The Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt Delta is a river delta in the Netherlands formed by the confluence of the Rhine, the Meuse and the Scheldt rivers.
View the Source Nile (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: The Nile, LeadQuote, Shaped: The Nile, Lead
From there, the Nile flows north through the Nubian Desert to Egypt's capital, Cairo, and finally empties into the Mediterranean Sea near Alexandria, where it has formed a large river delta.
View the Source Rhône (Wikipedia)
Shaped: Rhone River, LeadQuote, Shaped: Rhone River, Lead
The resulting delta forms the Camargue region.
View the Source Sundarbans (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Sundarbans, LeadQuote, Shaped: Sundarbans, Lead
Sundarbans is a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal.
View the Source Mississippi River Delta, Wikipedia
Shaped: Mississippi River Delta, Article textQuote, Shaped: Mississippi River Delta, Article text
The modern Mississippi River Delta formed over the last approximately 4,500 years as the Mississippi River deposited sand, clay and silt along its banks and in adjacent basins.
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