monding

Monding is a Dutch term that refers to the mouth of a river—the place where a river discharges into a larger body of water such as a sea, ocean, lake, or another river. In English-language geoscience, the equivalent terms are river mouth or estuary. The word is commonly used in geography, hydrology, and cartography to describe where a river's flow enters a larger water body.

River mouths form through the interplay of fluvial transport and tidal processes. Sediment carried by the river is deposited as the current slows upon meeting standing water, creating estuaries, deltas, or tidal flats. The shape and position of a monding can shift over time due to sediment supply, sea-level changes, and periodic flooding (avulsion). Human activity such as dredging, training walls, and port construction can also alter littoral and flow patterns around a monding, affecting navigation and local ecology.

Estuarine environments at a monding often host brackish water with gradients in salinity, supporting diverse plant and animal communities. These zones act as nurseries for fish and as feeding grounds for birds, while also providing protection from storms and buffering inland areas from floods. Management of mondings involves hydrology, ecology, and coastal engineering, aiming to balance navigation, habitat conservation, and flood risk.

See also: estuary, delta, river mouth, coastal engineering, hydrology. Etymology: from Dutch mond (mouth) + -ing, indicating a place associated with a mouth.