by plentiful sediments as they depart the channel during floods and oxbow lakes
that represent the cut off former stream meanders.
In locations actively generating large amounts erosional materials compared to
the amount of stream flow, the flow becomes braided. Braided streams are analogs
to the interwoven paths of braided hair.Instead of a single stream channel there
are many stream channels that merge and diverge and readily change pattern with
flow increases. Noteworthy examples are meltwater streams transporting the pro-
lific erosive debris of glaciers and rivers flowing in drier climates such as over the
Great Plains of North America, where incomplete weathering makes for sandy
stream beds and limited flow is able to transport the material only intermittently.
Material carried along by a stream is frequently deposited as the stream nears its
mouth emptying into a lake, an ocean, or a dry basin. This is due to the slowing of
the water due to concave longitudinal profiles as explained above and results in a
delta that has distributaries branching from the main stream in channel forms that
fit within a shape fancied to resemble the Greek letterΔ. Consider the gigantic
deltas of the Mississippi, Ganges, and Nile rivers. The materials deposited by these
rivers cover hundreds of square kilometers.
Supranationalism
A form of political organization that partially transcends the sovereignty of its
constituent units, increases the permeability of theirboundaries,butthatfalls
short of becoming a completefederation, in that the states so incorporated retain
a significant measure of political independence. A cluster of states that joins
together to promote trade and economic development, or to enhance their collec-
tive security, is not necessarily a supranational group. To reach this distinction, a
greater degree of integration beyond simply promoting mutual interests must be
sought and achieved. Some commentators consider supranationalism to be a form
of politicalglobalization. The first use of the term in a legal document appears to
be in the Treaty of Paris in 1951, which formally established the European Coal
and Steel Community (ECSC), setting the stage for the creation of the European
Economic Community (EEC) with the promulgation of the Treaty of Rome in
- After adding members steadily for several decades, the EEC became the
European Union (EU) under the Masstricht Treaty in 1994. Other international
organizations may be “supranational” to a limited extent, but to date the European
Union remains the most ambitious example of supranationalism.
The motivation behind the drive toward supranationalism in the Europeanregion
has several points of origin. In the aftermath of World War II European countries
Supranationalism 329