A ria is a long, narrow, often branching inlet formed by marine submergence of the lower parts of a river valley that had previously been incised below present sea level. Rias are the drowned mouths of unglaciated valleys, usually bordered by steep slopes rising to mountains, hills, or plateaux (
Figure R16). The term is of Spanish origin, derived from large inlets on the coasts of Galicia such as the Ria de Arosa and the Ria de Muros y Noya, fingering far inland. They are known as abers in Brittany and Wales.
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