Stream capture

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/stream-capture

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific term?Stream capture (or river piracy)
2. What is the primary mechanism?Headward erosion leading to the interception of an adjacent river's drainage basin
3. How does a river steal water from another river?A river can steal water by eroding its channel toward the other river's headwaters. When it reaches the watershed divide, it can take the water and sediment of the other river.
4. Why do some rivers capture others?Rivers capture others when they erode faster because of softer rocks, steeper slopes, or because the land is being lifted by tectonic forces. More rain or melting ice can also make rivers erode faster.

Watershed Divide: The elevated landform that separates adjacent drainage basins.
Base Level: The lowest point to which a river can erode its channel.
Lithology: The physical characteristics of a rock, particularly its composition and structure.
Misfit Stream: A stream that is too small to have carved the valley it flows in.