Misplaced Pages

A stream pool, in hydrology, is a stretch of a river or stream in which the water depth is above average and the water velocity is below average.

Formation

A stream pool may be bedded with sediment or armoured with gravel, and in some cases the pool formations may have been formed as basins in exposed bedrock formations. Plunge pools, or plunge basins, are stream pools formed by the action of waterfalls. Pools are often formed on the outside of a bend in a meandering river.

Dynamics

The depth and lack of water velocity often leads to stratification in stream pools, especially in warmer regions. In warm arid regions of the Western United States, surface waters were found to be 3–9 °C higher than those at the bottom

Habitat

This portion of a stream often provides a specialized aquatic ecosystem habitat for organisms that have difficulty feeding or navigating in swifter reaches of the stream or in seasonally warmer water. Such pools can be important fish habitat, especially where many streams reach high summer temperatures and very low-flow dry season characteristics. In warm and arid regions, the stratification of stream pools provide cooler water for fish that prefer low water temperatures, such as the redband trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in the Western United States. Mosquito larvae, which prefer still and often stagnant water, can be found in stream pools due to the low water velocity.

See also

• Pond
• Reach (geography)
• Riffle
• Stream gradient
• List of waterfalls by flow rate
• List of waterfalls by type

Notes

1. "Matthew Chasse, Riffle characteristics in stream investigations". Archived from the original on November 1, 2007.
2. "Missouri Streams - Fact Sheet" (PDF). mostreamteam.org.
3. Nielsen, Jennifer L.; Lisle, Thomas E.; Ozaki, Vicki (July 1994). "Thermally Stratified Pools and Their Use by Steelhead in Northern California Streams". Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. 123 (4): 613–626. Bibcode:1994TrAFS.123..613N. doi:10.1577/1548-8659(1994)123<0613:tspatu>2.3.co;2. ISSN 0002-8487.
4. tate, kenneth W.; lancaster, donald L.; lile, david. F. (January 2007). "Assessment of thermal stratification within stream pools as a mechanism to provide refugia for native trout in hot, arid rangelands". Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 124 (1–3): 289–300. Bibcode:2007EMnAs.124..289T. doi:10.1007/s10661-006-9226-5. ISSN 0167-6369. PMID 16897516. S2CID 21301944.
5. Anbalagan, S.; Arunprasanna, V.; Kannan, M.; Dinakaran, S.; Krishnan, M. (1 December 2015). "Spatio-temporal dynamics of mosquitoes in stream pools of a biosphere reserve of Southern Western Ghats, India". Acta Tropica. 152: 228–236. doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.09.024. PMID 26434940.

External links

• USGS: Stream Modeling website

v t e Aquatic ecosystems
General components and freshwater ecosystems General Acoustic ecology Algal bloom Anoxic waters Aquatic adaptation Aquatic animal Insect Mammal Water bird Aquatic biomonitoring Aquatic plant Aquatic population dynamics Aquatic predation Aquatic respiration Aquatic science Aquatic toxicology Benthos Bioluminescence Biomass Cascade effect Colored dissolved organic matter Dead zone Ecohydrology Eutrophication Fisheries science Food chain Food web GIS and aquatic science Hydrobiology Hypoxia Macrobenthos Meiobenthos Microbial ecology Microbial food web Microbial loop Nekton Neuston Particle Pelagic zone Photic zone Phytoplankton Plankton Pleuston Productivity Ramsar Convention Sediment trap Shoaling and schooling Siltation Spawn Stable isotope analysis in aquatic ecosystems Substrate Thermal pollution Trophic level Underwater camouflage Water column Zooplankton Freshwater Freshwater biology Freshwater biome Freshwater environmental quality parameters Freshwater fish Hyporheic zone Limnology Lake ecosystem Lake stratification Macrophyte Pond Fish pond Rheotaxis River ecosystem Stream bed Stream pool Trophic state index Upland and lowland Water garden Wetland Bog Brackish marsh Fen Freshwater marsh Freshwater swamp forest Ecoregions List of freshwater ecoregions (WWF) Africa and Madagascar Latin America and the Caribbean List of marine ecoregions Specific examples Everglades Maharashtra North Pacific Subtropical Gyre San Francisco Estuary
Marine ecosystems General Deep scattering layer Diel vertical migration f-ratio Iron fertilization Large marine ecosystem Marine biology Marine chemistry Marine food web Marine primary production Marine snow Ocean fertilization Oceanic physical-biological process Ocean turbidity Photophore Thorson's rule Upwelling Viral shunt Whale fall Marine life Census of Marine Life Deep-sea community Deep-water coral Marine fungi Marine invertebrates Marine larval ecology Seagrass Seashore wildlife Wild fisheries Microorganisms Marine bacteriophage Marine prokaryotes Marine protists Marine viruses Paradox of the plankton Vertebrates Marine mammal Marine reptile Saltwater fish Coastal fish Coral reef fish Deep-sea fish Demersal fish Pelagic fish Seabird Marine habitats Bay mud Marine coastal ecosystem Coastal biogeomorphology Cold seep Coral reef Davidson Seamount § Ecology Estuary Intertidal ecology Intertidal wetland Kelp forest Hydrothermal vent Lagoon Mangrove Marine biomes Mudflat Oyster reef Rocky shore Salt marsh Salt pannes and pools Seagrass meadow Sponge ground Sponge reef Tide pool Conservation Coral bleaching Ecological values of mangroves Fisheries and climate change HERMIONE Human impact on marine life Marine conservation activism Marine pollution Marine protected area
Lakes portal Oceans portal Category

v t e Ponds, pools, and puddles
Ponds	Ash pond Balancing lake Ballast pond Beel Cooling pond Detention pond Dew pond Evaporation pond Facultative lagoon Garden pond Ice pond Immersion pond Infiltration basin Kettle pond Log pond Melt pond Mill pond Polishing pond Raceway pond Retention pond Sag pond Salt evaporation pond Sediment pond Settling pond Solar pond Stepwell Stew pond Tailings Tarn Waste pond Waste stabilization pond
Pools	Anchialine pool Brine pool Infinity pool Natural pool Ocean pool Plunge pool Reflecting pool Spent fuel pool Stream pool Swimming pool Tide pool Vernal pool
Puddles	Bird bath Coffee ring effect Puddle Puddles on a surface Seep puddle
Biome	Beaver dam Duck pond Fish pond Goldfish pond Koi pond
Ecosystems	Aquatic ecosystem Freshwater ecosystem Lake ecosystem
Related	Aerated lagoon Bakki shower Big fish–little pond Body of water Constructed wetland Full pond Hydric soil Phytotelma Pond of Abundance Pond liner Ponding Puddle (M C Escher) Spring Swimming hole Water aeration Water garden Water Lilies (Monet) Well

• Natural pools
• Water streams
• Hydrology
• Bodies of water