Factors influencing enery of river

Plus de détails

Chapter 3, Natural vegetation

par Wang ShiMei

Physical Geograghy

par Mara Dee

Factors that influence river energy

par marcus chan

BEFORE THE FLOOD

par Diego Melían López

Factors influencing enery of river

The volume of the river

Size of drainage basin

Presence of vegetation

Vegetation allows more rain water to infiltrate the ground, thereby reducing the flow surface runoff

Permeability of rocks

Climate

In area with different season the amount of water in the channel fluctuates according to the amount of rainfall in each season

Dry season, the volume of water remains low. On the other hand river found in hot and wet equatorial hence, areas have a high volume of water in their channel

A river flowing in an area with less permeable rocks will most probably have a larger volume as water in its channel compare to the area with more permeable rocks

Sparse vegetation does not allow much rain water to infiltrate the ground thus, increasing the flow surface runoff so more surface runoff flow into the river and the volume of river is large.

The bigger the drainage area, the greater will be the amount of water in a river because when the drainage area is large , there is more surface area for rain to fall on

The speed of flow of the river

Gradient of channel

Roughness of channel

Encounters obstacles such as rocks,boulders,underwater vegetation or an uneven river bed

This obstales cause friction between the water and the channel, thus it will slow down the river flow and reduce the speed of the river

Wetted perimeter

River channels can be various shape and size

If the wetted perimeter is large, more water comes into contact with the channel. Thus, a lot of friction is generated as a river flows along the channel

If the wetted perimeter is small, less friction is generated and hence, the river will tend to flow faster

If the gradient is steep, the river will flow quickly but if the gradient is gentle the river will tend to flow slowly