silt
Fine water deposits
Silt is fine sediment—particles smaller than sand but larger than clay—carried by water and deposited where flow slows: riverbeds, lake bottoms, deltas.
Silt makes soil fertile but clogs waterways.
As a verb, to silt or silt up is to become blocked with sediment: The harbor had silted up over decades of neglect.
Water-deposited loose sediment
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- depositPlace for safekeeping
- deltaSymbol denoting variation
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
estuary · reservoir · settling · accumulation · loess · outwash · lamination · stratum
Moldable earth for ceramics
- sandFine rock particles
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
- particlesMinute pieces of matter
- grainsSmall hard seeds
fine · coarse · loam · minerals · organic · pebbles · sedimentary · siltstone
Floor beneath flowing water
- streambedRiver's carved floor
- channelPassage for transmission
- meanderTo travel without direction
- oxbowTight river curve
shoal · fluvial · riverine · watercourse · dredging · harbor · sandbar · embankment
Dark and unclear
- cloudyObscured by atmosphere
- turbidClouded by particles
- muddyObscured by silt
- opaqueImpassable to light
suspended · particles · stirred · disturbed · hazy · visibility · plume · runoff
Excess water drainage
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- scourClean by hard rubbing
- degradationDecline in condition
- washoutComplete failure or cancellation
gully · rill · bank · denudation · sedimentation · topsoil · leaching · subsidence
Containing abundant nourishment
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
- NileAfrica's longest river
- alluvialDeposited by moving water
farming · cultivation · crop · harvest · soil · enrichment · irrigation · paddy
alluvium
Water-deposited loose sediment
floodplain · estuary · reservoir · settling · accumulation · loess · outwash · lamination · stratum · layers
clay
Moldable earth for ceramics
grains · fine · coarse · loam · minerals · organic · pebbles · sedimentary · siltstone · shale
riverbed
Floor beneath flowing water
oxbow · shoal · fluvial · riverine · watercourse · dredging · harbor · sandbar · embankment · levee
murky
Dark and unclear
opaque · suspended · particles · stirred · disturbed · hazy · visibility · plume · runoff · churned
runoff
Excess water drainage
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- scourClean by hard rubbing
- degradationDecline in condition
washout · gully · rill · bank · denudation · sedimentation · topsoil · leaching · subsidence · overgrazing
nutrient-rich
Containing abundant nourishment
- floodplainFlood-prone riverside lowland
- agricultureCultivation of land, livestock
- NileAfrica's longest river
alluvial · farming · cultivation · crop · harvest · soil · enrichment · irrigation · paddy · bottomland
- estuarybrackish water, tidal flat, mudflat, distributary, salinity
- floodplainsalluvium, flood zone, backswamp, bottomland, floodway
- river ecosystemsfloodplains, tributaries, oxbow lakes, backwaters, riverbanks
- salt marshescordgrass, salt marsh, glasswort, mud flats, mudflats
- soil typesclay soil, sandy soil, loamy soil, rocky soil, loam
- water pollutionsewage, industrial waste, contaminants, algal bloom, toxic waste
- silt upBecome blocked by sediment
- silted upBlocked by fine sediment
- glacial siltIce-crushed mineral particles
- silting upGradual blockage by deposits