Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I The Tropical Environment
- Part II Process geomorphology in the tropics
- 5 Weathering in the tropics
- 6 Slopes: forms and processes
- 7 Rivers in the tropics
- 8 Alluvial valleys
- 9 Large rivers in the tropics
- 10 The tropical coasts
- 11 Deltas in the tropics
- 12 The arid tropics
- 13 Tropical highlands
- 14 Volcanic landforms
- 15 Tropical karst
- 16 Quaternary in the tropics
- Part III Anthropogenic changes
- References
- Index
- Plate section
11 - Deltas in the tropics
from Part II - Process geomorphology in the tropics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Part I The Tropical Environment
- Part II Process geomorphology in the tropics
- 5 Weathering in the tropics
- 6 Slopes: forms and processes
- 7 Rivers in the tropics
- 8 Alluvial valleys
- 9 Large rivers in the tropics
- 10 The tropical coasts
- 11 Deltas in the tropics
- 12 The arid tropics
- 13 Tropical highlands
- 14 Volcanic landforms
- 15 Tropical karst
- 16 Quaternary in the tropics
- Part III Anthropogenic changes
- References
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
This is a land half-submerged at high tide
Amitav GhoshIntroduction
Deltas are partly subaerial and partly subaqueous accumulations of riverborne sediment deposited at the mouth of the river, with the sediment reorganised by tides, waves and currents. The characteristics of a delta reflect both the river basin and the dominant geomorphic process operating in the coastal region. Deltas therefore vary in geometry, morphology, operating processes and sedimentary characteristics. They develop best when the river contributes a large amount of sediment on a tectonically inactive, wide and shallow continental shelf. Deltas can form in both seas and lakes.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Tropical Geomorphology , pp. 195 - 208Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011