Georges River, in the southern suburbs of Sydney (Australia) is a ria, or drowned river valley. The deeply indented shape of the ria reflects the dendritic pattern of drainage that existed before the rise in sea level that flooded the valley.

A ria is a coastal inlet formed by the partial submergence of an unglaciated river valley. It is a drowned river valley that remains open to the sea. Typically, rias have a dendritic, treelike outline although they can be straight and without significant branches. This pattern is inherited from the dendritic drainage pattern of the flooded river valley. The drowning of river valleys along a stretch of coast and formation of rias results in an extremely irregular and indented coastline. Often, there are islands, which are summits of partly submerged, pre-existing hill peaks. A ria coast is a coastline having several parallel rias separated by prominent ridges, extending a distance inland.^[1][2][3] The sea level change that caused the submergence of a river valley may be either eustatic (where global sea levels rise), or isostatic (where the local land sinks). The result is often a very large estuary at the mouth of a relatively insignificant river (or else sediments would quickly fill the ria). The Kingsbridge Estuary in Devon, England is an extreme example of a ria forming an estuary disproportionate to the size of its river; no significant river flows into it at all, only a number of small streams.^[1]

Etymology [edit]

The word ría comes from the Galician language, as rias are present all along the Galician coast. It is related to the word río (river). As originally defined, this term was restricted to drowned river valleys cut parallel to the structure of the country rock that was at right angles to the coastline. However, the definition of ria was later expanded to other flooded river valleys regardless of the structure of the country rock. For a period of time, European geomorphologists^[4] regarded rias to include any broad estuarine river mouth, including fjords, which are long, narrow inlets with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity. However, the current and preferred usage of this term by geologist and geomorphologists restricts this term solely to drowned unglaciated river valleys and, thus, excludes fjords from being classified as rias.^[1][2][3]

Examples [edit]

Europe

• Portugal: Ria de Aveiro in Aveiro, and Ria Formosa in Eastern Algarve.
• Wales: Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire is a ria.
• England: The south coast of England is a submergent coastline which contains many rias, including Portsmouth Harbour, Langstone Harbour, Chichester Harbour, Pagham Harbour, Southampton Water, Poole Harbour, the estuaries of the Exe, Teign and Dart, the Kingsbridge Estuary, and Plymouth Sound in Devon, and the estuaries of the River Fowey and River Fal in Cornwall.
• Ireland: Lough Swilly located on the northern tip of Ireland on the Inishowen peninsula region is an example of an Irish ria.
• Brittany: The rias in northern Brittany are called Abers; Aber Wrac'h (48°35′59″N 4°32′58″W / 48.599807°N 4.549376°W / 48.599807; -4.549376 (Aber Wrac'h)), Aber Benoît (48°33′46″N 4°34′48″W / 48.562747°N 4.579905°W / 48.562747; -4.579905 (Aber Benoît)), Aber Ildut (48°28′22″N 4°44′59″W / 48.472649°N 4.749602°W / 48.472649; -4.749602 (Aber Ildut)).
• Croatia: Lim
• Montenegro: The Bay of Kotor

Ria of San Vicente de la Barquera in Cantabria, Spain

• Spain

• Andalusia: Ria of Carreras, Ria of Huelva at the mouth of the rivers Odiel and Tinto.
• Asturias: Ria of Avilés, Ria of Ribadeo, Ria of Navia, Ria of Villaviciosa, Ria of Ribadesella, Ria of Llanes, Ria of Tina Mayor.
• Basque Country: Ria of Bilbao, mouth of the rivers Nervión, Ibaizabal and Cadagua.
• Cantabria: Ria of Tina Mayor, Ria of Tina Menor, Ría de San Vicente de la Barquera, Ría of la Rabia, Ría of San Martín de la Arena, Ría of Mogro, Ría of Solía, Ría of Carmen, Ría of Boo, Ría of Tijero, Ría of Cubas, Ría de Ajo, Ría of Cabo Quejo, Ría of Treto, Ría of Oriñón.
• Galicia: the Rias Baixas, like the Ria of Vigo, Ria of Pontevedra, Ria de Arousa, Ria of Muros and Noia, Ria of Corcubion, Cee and Ria de Aldan. And the Rias Altas like the Ria of Corunna, Ria of Ares and Betanzos, Ria of Cedeira, Ria of O Barqueiro, Ria of Ferrol, Ria of Ortigueira, Ria of Viveiro, Ria of Foz and Ria of Eo.

Africa

• Kenya: Kilindini Harbour, which is a deep channel between Mombasa island and South Coast mainland, is a ria.

Asia

• Sanriku Coast: North Japan, east coast of Honshū Island (main island). Sendai city, Miyagi Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture are included.

Oceania

• Papua New Guinea: Rias formed by volcanic lava flow, as opposed to glacial flow, are found near the town of Tufi at Cape Nelson, in Papua New Guinea's Oro Province.
• Australia: The east coast of Australia features several rias around Sydney, including Georges River, Port Hacking and Sydney Harbour itself.
• New Zealand: Rias of various scales abound on the eastern shores of the upper North Island. On the west coast, in contrast, they are fewer but larger; Kaipara Harbour is the country's largest, and the Hokianga Harbour, further north, is of historical significance to the native Māori people. The Marlborough Sounds at the northern tip of the South Island form a large network of rias.

North America

• United States: Narragansett Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay on the east coast of the United States and San Francisco Bay, on the Pacific coast, are rias. So are Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor in Washington State.
• Canada: Charlottetown Harbour, Prince Edward Island

South America

• Argentina: in the Patagonia there is the Deseado ria, on the coast of Santa Cruz Province, on the Atlantic Ocean.

References [edit]

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