A delta is a landform that is formated at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary,

lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river. Over long periods of time, this deposition builds the characteristic geographic pattern of a river delta. Herodotus the great historian coined the term delta for the Nile River delta because the sediment deposited at its mouth had the shape of the upper-case Greek letter Delta: .

Types of deltas

Delta lobe switching in the Mississippi Delta, 4600 yrs BP, 3500 yrs BP, 2800 yrs BP, 1000 yrs BP, 300 yrs BP, 500 yrs BP, current Deltas are typically classified according to the main control on deposition, which is usually either a river, waves, or tides.[2] These controls have a large effect on the shape of the resulting delta.

[edit] River-dominated deltas

River dominated deltas, such as the Mississippi River Delta, usually take on a multilobed shape that results from repeated sequences of channel occupation, offshore deposition, and channel avulsion. (See delta switching.) When a single channel is occupied for a long period of time, its deposits extend the channel far offshore, and causes the delta to resemble a bird's foot; the term "digitate delta" is sometimes used as well. These deltas are often characterized by a main channel that divides itself into several distributary channels.

The "bird's-foot" delta of the Ural River Digitate deltas can be often seen on sediment-rich rivers flowing into lakes. Among the examples are the delta of the Ural River in Kazakhstan ( 4653N 5137E / 46.883N 51.617E),[3] the delta of Saskatchewan River at its fall into Cedar Lake in Manitoba,[4] or the Mitchell River silt jetties at the fall of the Mitchell River into Lake King (part of Australia's Gippsland Lakes). Smaller formation of this type can be seen on rivers and irrigation channels depositing sediment into human-built reservoirs. One example is the sediment-formed peninsula at the point ( 452750N 443733E / 45.46389N 44.62583E) where the Kuma Manych Canal flows into the Chogray Reservoir in southern Russia. As these structures were completed in the late 1960s, the peninsula must be the product of just 40 years' worth of sedimentation.

[edit] Wave-dominated deltas

In wave dominated deltas, wave erosion controls the shape of the delta, although deposition still outweighs the amount of erosion and the delta is able to advance into the sea. Deltas of this form, such as the Nile Delta, tend to have a characteristic Greekcapital-delta shape .

The Ganges Delta in India and Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world and it is also one of the most fertile regions in the world.

[edit] Tide-dominated deltas

Erosion is also an important control in tide dominated deltas, such as the Ganges Delta, which may be mainly submarine, with prominent sand bars and ridges. This tends to produce a "dendritic" structure.[2] Tidal deltas behave differently from river- and wavedominated deltas, which tend to have a few main distributaries. Once a wave- or riverdistributary silts up, it is abandoned, and a new channel forms elsewhere. In a tidal delta, new distributaries are formed during times when there's a lot of water around - such as floods or storm surges. These distributaries slowly silt up at a pretty constant rate until they fizzle out.[2]

[edit] Gilbert deltas

A Gilbert delta (named after Grove Karl Gilbert) is a specific type of delta that is formed by coarse sediments, as opposed to gently-sloping muddy deltas such as that of the

Mississippi. For example, a mountain river depositing sediment into a freshwater lake would form this kind of delta.[5] [6] While some authors describe both lacustrine and marine locations of Gilbert deltas[5], others note that their formation is more characteristic of the freshwater lakes, where it is easier for the river water to mix with the lakewater faster (as opposed to the case of a river falling into the sea or a salt lake, where less dense fresh water brought by the river stays on top longer).[7] G.K. Gilbert himself first described this type of delta on Lake Bonneville in 1885.[7] Elsewhere, similar structures can be found e.g. at the mouths of several creeks flowing into Okanagan Lake in British Columbia and forming prominent peninsulas at Naramata ( 493530N 1193530W / 49.59167N 119.59167W), Summerland ( 493423N 1193745W / 49.57306N 119.62917W), or Peachland ( 494700N 1194245W / 49.7833333N 119.7125W)

[edit] Estuaries
Other rivers, particularly those located on coasts with significant tidal range, do not form a delta but enter into the sea in the form of an estuary. Notable examples include the Saint Lawrence River and the Tagus estuary.

[edit] Inland deltas

Okavango Delta In rare cases the river delta is located inside a large valley and is called an inverted river delta. Sometimes a river will divide into multiple branches in an inland area, only to rejoin and continue to the sea; such an area is known as an inland delta, and often occur on former lake beds. The Inner Niger Delta is the most notable example. The Amazon has also an inland delta before the island of Maraj. In some cases a river flowing into a flat arid area splits into channels which then disappear in the desert. Okavango Delta in Botswana is one well-known example.