Delta (river)
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A river delta is the result of a gradual build up of sediment on the continental shelf at the mouth of the river. They can build up, with the aid of deposition due to flooding, until they are higher than the water around them. This results in the river cutting channels through the delta to reach the now further-away ocean.
Deltas can also form where rivers join another river, or where they flow into lakes.
There are several very large and well known river deltas in the world, most notably at the mouth of the Mississippi River, the Amazon River, and the Nile.