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.
The ria at Aber Benoît, Brittany (photo: E.C.F. Bird: Copyright, Geostudies).
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Cross-references
Dalmatian Coasts
Estuaries
Karst Coasts
Salt Marsh
Sharm Coasts
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Bird, E. (2005). Ria. In: Schwartz, M.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_260
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