Violent water below Niagara Falls

Rapids on the Mississippi River, Pakehnham, Ontario, Canada

A rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. A rapid is a hydrological feature between a run (a smoothly flowing part of a stream) and a cascade. A rapid is characterised by the river becoming shallower and having some rocks exposed above the flow surface. As flowing water splashes over and around the rocks, air bubbles become mixed in with it and portions of the surface acquire a white colour, forming what is called "whitewater". Rapids occur where the bed material is highly resistant to the erosive power of the stream in comparison with the bed downstream of the rapids. Very young streams flowing across solid rock may be rapids for much of their length.

River Rapids

Rapids are categorized in classes, generally running from I to VI. A Class 5 rapid may be categorized as Class 5.1-5.9. While class I rapids are easy to negotiate and require no maneuvering, class VI rapids pose threat to life with little or no chance for rescue.

See also[link]

• Fluid dynamics - for academic digestion.
• International Scale of River Difficulty - for classification of rapids.
• Rheophile - organisms that live in fast flowing water.
• Riffle - A fast moving portion of a stream without the vigour of a rapid
• Whitewater - for factors related to rapids.

References[link]

• Mason, Bill (1984). Path of the Paddle. Northword Press. ISBN 9781559710046. 

External links[link]

Media related to Rapids at Wikimedia Commons