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Glite Dictionary
deltaic

deltaic

1 7.7
Relating to the flat land where a river meets the sea and drops sand and mud
  • adjective
  • /ˈdɛlteɪɪk/
  • Specialized
: deltaico
  • A number of major rivers, including the Colorado, Indus, Nile, and Yellow, are so over-tapped that they no longer discharge flow to the sea for extended periods, harming deltaic fisheries and degrading coastal zones.

Examples

  • The deltaic region is vital for diverse wildlife, providing rich habitats along the river's mouth.

  • The city's deltaic landscape is characterized by marshes and wetlands that support various ecosystems.

  • An excellent example of this can be found at Kirk Lake, where ongoing migration of tailings from the Beaver Mine forms a deltaic deposit along the shoreline of Kirk Lake.

    Academic text (2018)

  • Many of these "grandfathered" marsh management projects are located in the Grand, White, and Calcasieu Lake drainage basins of the Chenier plain and the Terrebonne and Caillou Bay basins of the deltaic plain.

    Academic text (1992)

  • Geologists study deltaic landforms to understand sediment deposition and river dynamics.

Surface Forms

deltaic positive

Morphology

deltaic = delta (transparent) = delta + ic

Formed from the noun 'delta' plus the adjectival suffix '-ic', meaning 'relating to a delta', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

The word deltaic comes from delta, the Greek letter Δ that looks like a triangle, because many river mouths are triangle-shaped. The ending -ic means 'relating to', so deltaic means 'relating to a river delta', its land, and the mud and sand it leaves behind.