DELTAS

FORMATION OF RIVER DELTAS

 What is a delta?

 A delta is a large deposit of alluvial sediment forming

a low-lying plain found at the mouth of a river.
 River deltas form when a river carrying sediment
reaches:
 (1) a body of standing water, such as a lake, sea, ocean,
or reservoir,
 (2) another river that cannot remove the sediment
quickly enough to stop delta formation, or
 (3) an inland region where the water spreads out and
deposits sediments.
 Why study deltas?

 River deltas have been important to humans for

thousands of years because of their extremely fertile
soils. Major ancient civilizations grew along deltas such
as those of the Nile and the Tigris-Euphrates rivers.
 Apart from this, they also provide flat land for
settlement.
 Deltas are important ecologically as well. Fish and other
wildlife thrive in deltas, many of which contain
mangrove swamps, sea grass beds and mudflats.
 How are deltas formed?

 The formation of a delta is a long and gradual process.

 They are created when the sediment load carried by a
stream is deposited because of a sudden reduction in
stream velocity.
 Deposition occurs as stream velocity drops on entering a
standing body of water, thus reducing the capacity and
competence of the river.
 Vegetation also increases the rate of deposition by slowing
down the water.
 This results in deposition of the bedload and suspended
load carried by the river.
 How are deltas formed?

 An important process aiding in the deposition of the

river’s load is flocculation.
 This is the process by which tiny particles in suspension
like clay and silt (which under normal fresh water
conditions would likely never fall out of suspension)
coagulate with the salt in the water by chemical reaction
and become heavy enough to ‘sink’ and be deposited.
 It occurs as fresh water mixes with salt water - e.g where
a river flows into the sea (then called brackish water).
 How are deltas formed?

 When a river meets the standing water of an ocean at the

coast, it quickly loses velocity and the heaviest particles drop
out.
 The fine suspended load may be carried further out into the
water before it settles out and sinks to the bottom.
 The sediment deposited in a delta is laid down in layers or
beds each containing various types of sediment. The position
and composition of these beds depend on how far they were
carried by the river’s flow before being deposited.
 How are deltas formed?

 As deposition continues the water becomes more and

more shallow and eventually topset beds begin to rise
above the surface of the water.
 As more sediments are brought by the river to the
delta, especially in times of flooding, the main river
may become choked with sediment.
 When this occurs, the river branches into
distributaries, finding the least resistant path to the
shoreline.
 How are deltas formed?

 When sandy deposits block the distributaries, they then

become inactive, and smaller, active distributaries
branch off.
 As the process continues, distributaries constantly shift
position across the surface of the delta.
 Thus, the surface of most deltas is marked by small
shifting channels that carry water and sediments away
from the main river channel.
 These small channels also act to distribute the stream's
sediment load over the surface of the delta.
 How are deltas formed?

 As the river channels meander laterally across the top

of the delta, the river is lengthened and its gradient is
reduced, causing the suspended load to settle out in
nearly horizontal beds over the delta's top (i.e. the
topset beds)

 Once above the surface, topset beds become an

extension of the landward alluvial plain.
Delta formation
 Composition of a delta

 Deltaic deposits are composed of three types of

depositional layers, each with different types of
sediment:
 Bottomset beds

 Foreset beds

 Topset beds
 Composition of a delta

 Bottomset beds - Bottomset beds are nearly horizontal or

flat layers of fine clay and silt that form underwater
farthest from the mouth of the river and the active delta
front. These are the very finest particles that travel the
furthest before very low velocity/flocculation leads to their
deposition.
 Composition of a delta

 Foreset beds – Closer to the mouth, yet still underwater, are

foreset beds of sand and gravel that slope steeply down
toward the bottomset beds at angles of 5 to 25 degrees.
They make up the main body of deltas. The sediment
particles within foreset beds consist of larger and more
variable sizes, and constitute the bed load that the river
moves downstream by rolling and bouncing along the
channel bottom. When the bed load reaches the edge of the
delta front, it rolls over the edge, and is deposited in steeply
dipping layers over the top of the existing bottomset beds.
 Composition of a delta

 Topset beds – These are thin, horizontal layers of

differing sizes - coarser sand and gravel (deposited first
as the river loses energy) as well as finer material from
the suspended load that are deposited on the surface
of the delta on top of the foreset beds.

 As a delta increases in size and advances farther out

into the water, the topset beds cover the foreset beds,
which in turn cover the bottomset beds.
Composition of a delta
 Parts of a delta

 Topset beds form the delta plain and are subdivided

into two regions:

 the upper deltaic plain which is unaffected by tides and,

 the lower deltaic plain whose boundary with the upper

deltaic plain is defined by the upper limit of tidal
influence.
 Parts of a delta

 Fully formed deltas are typically made up of three

parts. These parts are:

 the upper deltaic plain,

Delta Plain

 the lower deltaic plain and

 the subaqueous delta

 Upper Deltaic Plain
 This is that part of the
delta that is farthest
inland i.e. nearest to the
land.
 It lies above the high tide
mark and is not affected
by the action of waves or
tides.
 It is usually the area with the
least water and highest
elevation.
 The river or stream that
forms the delta begins to
divide in this area into
smaller channels called
distributaries, which carry
sediments toward the delta's
edges.
 Lower Deltaic Plain

 This lies immediately  The landscape is affected

seaward of the upper by the action of
deltaic plain, in the middle distributaries, tides, and
of the delta. waves.
 It occupies the area  It is a transition zone
between high and low between the dry upper
tides and, thus, delta and the wet
periodically lies subaqueous delta.
underwater.
 Subaqueous Delta

 That part of the delta that
lies below the low tide
mark.
 It is closest to the sea or
body of water into which
the river flows.
 This area usually lies past
the shoreline. And as a
result, lies completely
underwater.
 Delta Plain

Pro Delta
De
lt aS
lo p
e

The Delta Plain is divided into:

 Upper deltaic plain – entirely fluvial
 Lower deltaic plain – modified by tides
• Tidal flats, mangroves, marshes

 Delta slope – deposition of fluvial sediment Subaqueous

Delta
 Pro delta – deposition of marine or lacustrine sediment
 Stages in Delta Formation

 Stage 1: deposition divides the river mouth into several

distributaries. Spits and bars arise and lagoons are formed. The
levées of the river extend into the sea via the distributaries.
 Stage 2: the lagoons begin to get filled in with sediments and
become swampy. The delta begins to assume a more solid
appearance.
 Stage 3: the old part of the delta becomes colonised with plants
and its height is slowly raised as a result. Swamps gradually
disappear and this part of the delta becomes dry land.
 All three stages can be seen in most deltas. As a delta grows
larger, the old parts merge imperceptibly with the flood plain
and they no longer have the appearance of a delta.
Deltas only form where the rate of deposition exceeds the rate
of sediment removal – i.e. where the critical threshold is no
longer met and the system has fallen out of dynamic equilibrium.

Typical Conditions for Delta

Formation
Typical Conditions for Delta Formation

 Not all rivers form deltas. For a delta to form, the flow of a river must be slow and
steady enough for silt to be deposited and build up.

 The Ok Tedi, in Papua New Guinea is one of the fastest-flowing rivers in the world. It
does not form a delta as it becomes a tributary of the Fly River. (The Fly, on the
other hand, does form a rich delta as it empties into the Gulf of Papua, part of the
Pacific Ocean.)

 A river will also not form a delta if exposed to powerful waves. The Columbia River in
Canada and the United States, for instance, deposits enormous amounts of
sediment into the Pacific Ocean, but strong waves and currents sweep the material
away as soon as it is deposited. 

 Tides also limit where deltas can form. The Amazon, the largest river in the world, is
without a delta. The tides of the Atlantic Ocean are too strong to allow silt to create
a delta on the Amazon. 
Typical Conditions for Delta Formation

 Active vertical and lateral  The coastal area into which

erosion in the upper the river flows should be
course to provide the sheltered with weak
extensive sediments currents and a small tidal
needed for deltas to range (preferably tideless).
form.  This will result in limited
wave action and little
subsequent transport of
sediment after deposition.
Typical Conditions for Delta Formation

 The sea adjoining the  The calibre of the load

delta should be shallow
(e.g. on the continental
shelf) or else the load will
be washed away into the
deep waters.
should be high.
 This will require a large
amount of energy to keep
in transport
 Types of Delta

 A tug of war between land and water determines a delta's

shape. It is a battle that pits the strength of a river's flow and
the amount of sediment it carries against wave and tidal
currents.
 Deltas build outward from a coast only if the slope from the
shore is gentle and ocean currents are not strong enough to
carry away the sediment deposited by the river.
 Deltas are classified either based on their shape or on what
controls a river's deposition of sediment.
 The deposition of sediment may be controlled by the river
itself, waves or tides.
 Types of Deltas

Types based on shape Types based on controls of deposition

 Arcuate  River-dominated deltas

 Digitate  Wave-dominated deltas

 Cuspate  Tide-dominated deltas

 Gilbert deltas

 Estuarine deltas
 Arcuate, Digitate and Cuspate

Types of Deltas based on shape

 Arcuate Deltas

 Arcuate deltas are the commonest form of delta.

 They are arc or fan-shaped, with the wide portion of the
fan or convex end farthest from the mainland.
 Crossed by many short, well-defined distributaries, these
types of deltas are composed of relatively coarse
sediments like gravel.
 Wave and river activity are fairly well balanced. The
seaward edge of the delta is rather smooth because
strong waves push the sediment back against that edge.
 The Nile Delta in Eygpt is an example of an arcuate delta.
The Nile Delta

•The most common shape of

delta
•Characteristics:
curving shoreline
(smoothed by long shore
drift),

distinct pattern of
drainage (branching of
distributaries),

typically more ‘gravely’

deposits .
 Digitate Deltas

 Where the action of waves is weak and that of a river is

strong, an irregular-shaped delta forms that extends out into
the water well beyond the local shoreline.
 Resembling the spread claws of a bird's foot, this type of
delta is also called a bird's foot delta.
 Fine sediments and shifting distributaries mark this river-
dominated delta.
 Bird's foot deltas are not common along ocean coasts
because the action of ocean currents and waves is often as
strong if not stronger than that of rivers.
 The Mississippi Delta, on the Gulf of Mexico, is a bird's foot
delta.
The Mississippi
Delta
•‘Fingers’ of deposition build out
into the sea along the
distributaries channels giving an
appearance like a birds claw.

•Typically with a finer sediment

 Cuspate Deltas

 Cuspate deltas form where a river drops sediment onto

a straight shoreline with strong waves that hit head-on.
 The waves force the sediment to spread outwards in
both directions from the river's mouth, making a
pointed tooth shape with sides that curve inward.
 Few distributaries are found in cuspate deltas.
 The Tiber Delta in Italy and Ebro Delta in Spain are
classic examples.
Ebro Delta
A cuspate delta is shaped
like a tooth by:

gentle but regular

opposing currents in
the water body the
river flows into,

Longshore drift

Strong waves that

approach the coast
head on
 Wave –dominated, tide-dominated, Gilbert and estuarine

Types of Deltas based on

control of sediment deposition
 River-Dominated Deltas

 These types of delta form where the growth of the delta from
sediment input exceeds the capability of waves, tidal currents and
longshore currents to redistribute the sediment.
 A major example is the Mississippi River Delta – formed where the
Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Wave and current
action in the Gulf is weak. The shape of the delta is therefore
controlled by the large amount of sediment and high discharge
rate of the Mississippi River.
 The delta shape resembles a “bird’s foot” due to the lobes of
sediment that extend into the Gulf of Mexico.
 It is possible that human activity is changing this delta into a wave-
dominated one.
Mississippi Delta
 Wave-Dominated Deltas

 A wave-dominated delta is one where wave erosion

controls where and how much sediment remains in the
delta after a river drops it.
 Strong wave action at the mouth helps to move
sediment and controls the size and shape of the delta.
 These deltas have relatively smooth shorelines.
 The Nile delta (shaped by waves from the Mediterranean
Sea) and Senegal delta (shaped by waves from the
Atlantic Ocean) are both wave-dominated deltas.
Nile Delta
 Tide-Dominated Deltas

 A tide-dominated delta is one that forms where tidal currents

are stronger than river outflows.
 The currents re-distribute the sediment forming sand-filled,
funnel-shaped distributaries.
 It has a dendritic structure (branched, like a tree) due to newly-
formed distributaries during times of high water (flood) and
lobes perpendicular to the shoreline.
 Tide-dominated deltas usually form in areas with a large tidal
range, or area between high tide and low tide.
 The massive Ganges-Bramhaputra delta, in India and
Bangladesh, is a tide-dominated delta, shaped by the rise and
fall of tides in the Bay of Bengal.
Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta
Summary
The Mississippi Delta – A
River Dominated Delta
The Mississippi delta is dominated by
fluvial processes, which produce bird
foot extensions. The Mississippi River
pours more than a million metric tons
of sediment into the ocean each day.
Eventually the river finds a shorter
route to the ocean and abandons its
active distributary channel for a
shorter course. The abandoned
distributary ceases to grow and is
eroded back by wave action.
Abandoned river channels and
inactive sub-deltas have developed on
each side of the present river.
The Nile Delta – A Wave
Dominated Delta
 The Nile delta is dominated by wave
action which produces an arcuate
delta front.
The Mekong Delta – A
Tide Dominated Delta
The Mekong delta is dominated by
tidal forces which produce wide
distributary channels.
The Niger Delta – A
Hybrid Delta
The Niger delta has formed where
stream deposition, wave action, and
tidal forces are about equal. An
arcuate delta front and wide
distributary channels are thus
produced.
 Gilbert Deltas

 Gilbert deltas are formed as rivers deposit large,

coarse sediments. Although they can form in oceans,
such deltas are usually confined to rivers emptying
into freshwater lakes in mountainous rivers. They are
usually steeper than the normal flat plain of a wave-
dominated or tide-dominated delta.
 Lacustrine deltas are good examples such as the
Kander River Delta in Lake Thun, Switzerland and St.
Clair River Delta in Canada.
St. Clair River Delta – the world’s
largest lacustrine delta.
 Estuarine Deltas

 When a river is located near coasts that have large tidal

variation they do not always form a traditional delta. They
instead form estuaries, or a river that meets the sea.
 Estuarine deltas form as a river does not empty directly into
the ocean, but instead forms an estuary.
 The load is deposited along the sides of the estuary.
 An estuary is a partly enclosed wetland that features
a brackish water (part-saltwater, part-freshwater) habitat.
 The Yellow River forms an estuary, for instance, as it reaches
the Bohai Sea off the coast of northern China. The River
Shannon Estuary is another example.
The Yenisei and Ob Rivers
 Other Types of Deltas

 Inland deltas, which empty into a plain, are extremely

rare.
 The Okavango delta in Botswana is probably the most
well-known—and so unusual it is recognized as one of
the "Seven Natural Wonders of Africa.“
 Water from the Okavango River never reaches another
body of water. The delta spreads water and silt across
a flat plain in the Kalahari Desert before
being evaporated.
 Other Types of Deltas

 Inverted deltas look like the opposite of a classic arcuate

delta.
 The distributary network of an inverted delta is inland, while
a single stream reaches the ocean or other body of water.
 The delta of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River in northern
California is an inverted delta. The rivers and creeks of the
Sacramento and San Joaquin distributary networks meet in
Suisun Bay, before flowing to the Pacific Ocean through a
single gap in the Coast Range, the Carquinez Strait.