The process that forms deposits of sediment carried by rivers is known as:

The process that forms deposits of sediment carried by rivers is known as:

• A. River deposition
• B. Glacial scraping
• C. Wind deposition
• D. Chemical sedimentation

Answer: (A)

Sediment transport by a river ends in deposition when the river loses energy. As water slows, its capacity to carry sediment decreases, so particles settle out and accumulate on the riverbed, floodplains, or at the mouth, forming river deposits. Heavier grains drop first, with lighter material settling farther downstream. This buildup creates features like river bars, levees, and deltas and over long times can become sedimentary rocks. The term for this process is river deposition, the laying down of sediment carried by flowing water. Glacial scraping describes erosion by ice, wind deposition is sediment laid down by wind, and chemical sedimentation involves minerals precipitating from solution, not settling from a river, so they don’t describe how river-carried sediment forms deposits.

Sediment transport by a river ends in deposition when the river loses energy. As water slows, its capacity to carry sediment decreases, so particles settle out and accumulate on the riverbed, floodplains, or at the mouth, forming river deposits. Heavier grains drop first, with lighter material settling farther downstream. This buildup creates features like river bars, levees, and deltas and over long times can become sedimentary rocks. The term for this process is river deposition, the laying down of sediment carried by flowing water. Glacial scraping describes erosion by ice, wind deposition is sediment laid down by wind, and chemical sedimentation involves minerals precipitating from solution, not settling from a river, so they don’t describe how river-carried sediment forms deposits.