hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

, a debouch (or debouche) is a place where runoff from a small, confined space discharges into a larger, broader

body of water A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such ...

. The word is derived from the French verb ''déboucher'' (), which means "to unblock, to clear". The term also has a military usage.

Geology

In fluvial geomorphology, a debouch is a place where runoff from a small, confined space emerges into a larger, broader space. Common examples are when a stream runs into a river or when a river runs into an ocean. Debouching can generate massive amounts of sediment transport. When a narrow stream travels down a mountain pass into a basin, an

alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...

will form from the mass deposit of the sediment. The four largest rivers (the Amazon, the Ganges-Brahmaputra, the Yangtze and the Yellow) are responsible for 20% of the global discharge of sediment in to the oceans by debouches.

Geography

fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluv ...

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...

, a debouch is a place where a body of water pours forth from a narrow opening. Some examples are: where a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the ...

or stream emerges from a narrow constraining landform, such as a

defile Defile may refer to: * To make dirty or impure * Defile (geography), in geography, a narrow pass or gorge between mountains * Defile (military), to march off in a line * The Defile, a pass between Suess Glacier and Nussbaum Riegel in Victoria ...

, into open country or a wider space; a

creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

joins a

; or a stream flows into a lake.

Military

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...

usage of debouch: as a noun, a

fortification A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

at the end of a

is sometimes known as a debouch; and as a verb, soldiers emerging from a narrow space and spreading out are also said to "debouch".

References

External links

* {{Coastal geography Fluvial landforms Rivers Water streams Military terminology

Geology

Geography

Military

See also

References

External links