Which coastal landform develops at a river mouth through the accumulation of sediments to form a fan-shaped area?

Which coastal landform develops at a river mouth through the accumulation of sediments to form a fan-shaped area?

• A. Coastal Cell
• B. Beach
• C. Coral Reef
• D. Delta

Answer: (D)

Sediment carried by a river is dropped as the flow slows at the mouth, building up material outward into the sea and often splitting into multiple distributaries that spread the sediment in a fan-like pattern. This creates a delta—the landform formed specifically by sediment accumulation where a river enters a standing body of water. The fan-shaped appearance comes from the way the river channels divide and distribute sediments across the delta plain as it progrades into the coast. Other options don’t describe this depositional process at a river mouth: a beach is formed mainly by wave action along the shore, coral reefs need warm, clear shallow water, and coastal cells are broader coastal systems, not a single river-mouth depositional feature.

Sediment carried by a river is dropped as the flow slows at the mouth, building up material outward into the sea and often splitting into multiple distributaries that spread the sediment in a fan-like pattern. This creates a delta—the landform formed specifically by sediment accumulation where a river enters a standing body of water. The fan-shaped appearance comes from the way the river channels divide and distribute sediments across the delta plain as it progrades into the coast. Other options don’t describe this depositional process at a river mouth: a beach is formed mainly by wave action along the shore, coral reefs need warm, clear shallow water, and coastal cells are broader coastal systems, not a single river-mouth depositional feature.