Channel pattern

Channel pattern

Fluvial processes form several channel patterns, including:

  • Straight, which are found in the most tectonically incised/active areas. This is more of a hypothetical end-member, and are not often found in nature. Straight-type channels can be found at alluvial fans.
  • Braided rivers, which form in (tectonically active) areas that have a larger sedimentary load than the discharge of the river and a high gradient.
  • Meandering rivers, which form a sinuous path in a usually low-gradient plain toward the end of a fluvial system.
  • Anastomosed river is a rare case of a relatively straight, complicated vertical sequence of river deposits with banks held together by dense vegetation.

See also

References

  • Prothero, D. R. and Schwab, F., 1996, Sedimentary Geology, pg. 137-167, ISBN 0-7167-2726-9
v · d · eRiver morphology
Large-scale features
Drainage basin • Drainage network • Strahler number (stream order) • River valley • River delta
Alluvial rivers
Meander • Meander cutoff • Point bar • Cut bank • Riffle • Stream pool • Braided river • Bar (river morphology) • Anabranch • River bifurcation • River channel migration • Oxbow lake • Floodplain • Riparian corridor • Avulsion (river) • Mouth bar • Thalweg • Channel pattern
Bedrock river
Canyon • Knickpoint • Plunge pool • Bedrock erosion
Bedforms
Lower plane bed • Current ripple • Dune • Upper plane bed • Antidune
Regional processes
Mechanics
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