Dry Riverbed

Wadi

A wadi is a river valley or a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that typically contains water only when heavy rain occurs, though wadis with year-round water flow do exist, such as Wadi Bani Khalid and Wadi Mawr. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the lowest portions of alluvial fans and extend to inland sabkhas or dry lakes. Permanent channels rarely exist, due to lack of continual water flow. Water percolates down into the stream bed, causing an abrupt loss of energy and resulting in vast deposition. Wadis may develop dams of sediment that change the stream patterns in the next flash flood.

Stream bed

A streambed or stream bed is the bottom of a stream or river and is confined within a channel or the banks of the waterway. Usually, the bed does not contain terrestrial (land) vegetation and instead supports different types of aquatic vegetation, depending on the type of streambed material and water velocity. Streambeds are what would be left once a stream is no longer in existence. The beds are usually well preserved even if they get buried because the banks and canyons made by the stream are typically hard, although soft sand and debris often fill the bed. Dry, buried streambeds can actually be underground water pockets. During times of rain, sandy streambeds can soak up and retain water, even during dry seasons, keeping the water table close enough to the surface to be obtainable by local people.

dry

Symbol

1. ISO 639-3 language code for Darai.

Adjective

1. Free from or lacking moisture.
2. Unable to produce a liquid, as water, oil, or milk.

riverbed

Noun

1. The path where a river runs, or where a river once ran; the bottom earthen part of a river, not including the riverbanks.