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River Channel Patterns

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Rivers and River Terraces

Part of the book series: Geographical Readings ((GR))

Abstract

From the consistency with which rivers of all sizes increase in size downstream, it can be inferred that the physical laws governing the formation of the channel of a great river are the same as those operating in a small one. One step towards understanding the mechanisms of operation is to describe many rivers of various kinds. The present study is concerned principally with channel pattern. The term refers to limited reaches of channel that can be defined as straight, sinuous, meandering or braided. Channel patterns do not, however, fall easily into well-defined categories, for, as will be discussed, there is a gradual merging of one pattern into another. The difference between a sinuous course and a meandering one is a matter of degree. Similarly, there is a gradation between the occurrence of scattered islands and a truly braided pattern.

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Authors
  1. Luna B. Leopold
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  2. M. Gordon Wolman
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Editor information

G. H. Dury

Copyright information

© 1970 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Leopold, L.B., Wolman, M.G. (1970). River Channel Patterns. In: Dury, G.H. (eds) Rivers and River Terraces. Geographical Readings. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15382-4_8

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