Southeast Asian deltas
RIS ID
13230
Abstract
Deltas and estuaries are actively evolving suites of landforms formed where rivers meet the sea. Deltas are characteristically subaerial (and subaqueous) sediment wedges that protrude from the shoreline. whereas estuaries are typically tidally influenced lower parts of rivers in which the shoreline recedes inland. However, the individual distributaries of deltas. which may themselves be cuspate. exhibit estuarine characteristics. and it is convenient to use the term 'deltaic-estuarine' to describe river mouth tidal and alluvial plains. There are extensive low-lying coastal and deltaic-estuarine plaIDs throughout Southeast Asia. These represent productive and relatively easily settled land. which has led to clearance of the natural vegetation of many of these plains for agriculture. silviculture. or settlement.
Publication Details
Woodroffe, C. D. (2005). Southeast Asian deltas. In A. Gupta (Eds.), The Physical Geography of Southeast Asia (pp. 219-236). Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.