What is the difference between delta and estuary

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Key Differences Between Estuary and Delta The difference between estuary and delta are discussed in the points given below: By estuary, we mean a semi-enclosed waterbody, comprising of brackish water. It is a place where the river meets the sea. On the other hand, the delta is defined as the wetlands, that is formed when a fast moving river joins a slow-moving water body, and thus empty the sediments at its mouth.

The estuary is like funnel-shaped, the mouth of a river from where the tides move in and out. Conversely, Delta is a triangular land at the river mouth travelled across by its distributaries.

Rivers that encounter high tides are more likely to form estuary. In contrast, the delta is formed when the rivers witness low tides. The land of the delta is fertile in nature. In contrast, estuaries are present where the ocean or lake waters flood up into the river valley.

The key difference between the two is where the sediment transported by the river is deposited. It accumulates seaward or lakeward of the average shoreline for a delta and within the river valley for an estuary. In each of these cases, the river extends farther out into the standing body of water through time. The sedimentary rocks deposited in deltas and estuaries are similar, consisting of a mixture of fluvial, shoreline, and shallow marine facies.

However, the association of subenvironments and their vertical sequence through time are different. I will draw cross section and map views of a delta showing the delta plane, delta slopes, and prodelta.

Such estuaries form due to tectonic activity, i. Moreover, when a barrier island separates an estuary from the sea, we call it a bar-built estuary. Fjord estuaries are a form of estuaries glaciers create.

They occur when glaciers carve out a deep, steep valley and then retreat while the ocean rushes in to fill the narrow, deep depression. A delta is a landform created due to the deposition of sediments carried by water in the river, while an estuary is a partially enclosed coastal water body where freshwater from streams or rivers mixes with the saltwater from the ocean.

In a delta, sediments accumulate seaward of the average shoreline, whereas in an estuary, sediments accumulate within the river valley. While deltas form in areas that experience coastal plants and low tides, estuaries form in areas that experience rift valleys and high tides.

The key difference between delta and estuary is that in a delta, sediments accumulate seaward of the average shoreline, whereas, in an estuary, sediments accumulate within the river valley. What is Estuary? Main Differences Between Delta and Estuary Deltas are practically wetlands that are normally formed when a fast-moving river empties its sediments before joining a slow-moving water body such as a sea or an ocean or a lake. On the other hand, estuaries are semi-enclosed water bodies that constitute of salty water.

It is normally an area where a river merges with a sea. Deltas are extremely fertile by nature that makes it suitable for agriculture and estuaries are not at all fertile and thus, not suitable for agriculture.

Deltas are formed in regions that experience coastal plants and low tides, whereas, estuaries are formed in regions that experience rift valleys and high tides. Examples of deltas include Krishna Delta and Brahmaputra Delta.

Examples of estuaries include Thekkumbhagam estuary and Baga Creek. It is a low triangular-shaped fertile area consisting of alluvial deposits brought in by a river before meeting a large water body.

It is just an area where the fresh water from a river meets the saltwater of seas and oceans. Formed when rivers fail to carry along the sediments any further due to reduced current before meeting an ocean or a sea. It is formed by a tidal bore that gradually erodes the riverbed and also carries the fertile soil or silt to the sea.