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1. What is the difference between a torrent and a river?
1. What is the difference between a torrent and a river?
Torrents are short water courses on the sides of mountains. The water does not flow on them all the time, but only when the ice melts or when there is a lot of rain.
On the other side, rivers are permanent water courses with a very big erosive power.
2.Check out our trip to La Mitad del Mundo. Where can you find a gully?
3.What is the difference between rainwater and a torrent?
Torrents are short water courses on the sides of mountains. The water does not flow on them all the time, but only when the ice melts or when there is a lot of rain. They do have a big erosive power on many conditions because it's still a considerable amount of water with some strength.
On the other hand, rainwater are surface waters, and they flow a non-fixed course. They only may have a big erosive power in land which soft rocky materials and there's no vegetation to help.
3. What is a glacier? How is it formed? Why does it form a U shaped valley?
Glaciers are actually rivers of ice which can only be found in high mountains and the Polar regions. Glaciers begin to form when snow remains in the same area year-round, where enough snow accumulates to transform into ice. Each year, new layers of snow bury and compress the previous layers. This compression forces the snow to re-crystallize, forming grains similar in size and shape to grains of sugar. Gradually the grains grow larger and the air pockets between the grains get smaller, causing the snow to slowly compact and increase in density. After about two winters, the snow turns into firn -- an intermediate state between snow and glacier ice. At this point, it is about half as dense as water. Over time, larger ice crystals become so compressed that any air pockets between them are very tiny. In very old glacier ice, crystals can reach several inches in length. For most glaciers, this process takes over a hundred years.
Does the mountain look familiar to you? How did the rocks get there?
It does look familiar, I think it can be the Chimborazo maybe, or one of the mountains or volcanoes in Ecuador. I think those rocks, ended down there because of the ice erosion, the changing in the snow layers, if one time the snow where they were secured melted they fell, o r just the pure erosion of the water entering the rocks and then freezing inside and cracking them up, and later they fell.
Have you ever wondered where those big stones come from?
Yes, I have wondered it, and I think most of them are in those laces because of the erosion, transportation and deposition. This rocks may have been broken apart or just fallen because another rock broke and take this one with it. Also it may have been a big rock long time ago, and as time passes, rain, the different climate and weather changes have affected the rock.
7. Why do rivers form V-shaped and Glaciars U-shaped valleys?
Because as rivers have strong currents, move fast and erode the rocks from the bottom more than the sides, specially in the high course of the river where it's deeper and thinner and that's why the current forms V shaped valleys with a sharp edge at the bottom.
I think because glaciers move slowly, and they erode more at the sides than the bottom, and they are also wider, that's why they form U shaped valleys.
8. How are cliffs formed?
Cliffs are formed when waves in the sea tear off the bottom of the borders of the continental land and once the bottom part is teared off the upper part falls down and the vertical border of the cliff is formed.
9. How are beaches formed?
9. How are beaches formed?
They are formed by the action of the sea, due to the force of the waves and currents. That's why beaches are accumulations of material that appear on low coasts, and are usually formed by fine sand and/or gravel.
10. How are waterfalls formed?
10. How are waterfalls formed?
Some times they are formed when a river, starts to form in the upper course when it erodes lightly the land and it founds a cliff or higher point from where it falls and also gives it strength to the course. Another way, is been made by glaciers, which in the pendant valleys or hanging valleys, end abruptly, and time later the melted ice in liquid water form, falls forming the waterfall into the bigger, main U-shaped valley.
11. How are rivers formed?
11. How are rivers formed?
Usually, rivers are formed by the melting of glaciers, or accumulations of underground water and rain water, and even by the accumulation of torrents which became little streams, and afluents of the main river. However, the formation by a glacier melting is the most common one.
12. Which is the biggest river of Ecuador?
12. Which is the biggest river of Ecuador?
If we are talking about the longest river is the Napo river with 440 km long, the widest hydrographic area or hydrographic water shed "cuenca hidrográfica"is the Guayas river which was a water shed of 40.000 square kilometers.
13. What section of the river produces the most erosion?
13. What section of the river produces the most erosion?
It's the upper course of the river where the current is stronger but the river is thinner.
14. What can you say about Glaciar Erosion?
Sorry if the videos are kinda boring, but Patrick published my planned video so I did the best to find some good videos.
Another video
15. What can you say about costal erosion?
15. What can you say about costal erosion?
Coastal erosion is mainly caused by waves, tides and sea currents. It forms cliffs, beaches and coastal bars or spurs. Marine erosion is mainly caused by the erosive power of the waves when they tear apart pieces of rocks which often form cliffs, and also when tides transport and break those pieces and leave them in other parts, forming beaches and spurs.
