From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
- For other meanings, see Rapid (disambiguation).
Violent water below Niagara Falls
A rapid is a section of a river where it loses elevation over a relatively short distance (that is, the stream gradient is locally steepened), causing an increase in water flow and (usually) turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run and a cascade. A rapid is recognized by the river becoming shallower and having rocks exposed above the flow surface. As flowing water splashes over and around the rocks, air bubbles become mixed in with it and the water takes on a white colour, forming what is called "whitewater". Rapids occur where the bed material is highly resistant to the erosive power of the stream in comparison with the bed downstream of the rapids. Very young streams flowing across solid rock may be rapids for much of their length.
[edit] See also
- Fluid dynamics - for academic explanation.
- International Scale of River Difficulty - for classification of rapids.
- Rheophile - organisms that live in fast flowing water.
- Whitewater - for factors creating rapids.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Mason, Bill. Path of the Paddle, 1984, Northword Press, Minoqua, WI.
