Channels can be characterized by measurements of width (w), depth (d), and velocity (v) which make up discharge (Q), flow resistance (n) and slope (s). The most useful parameter for describing channel shape is probably the width-depth ratio, w/d.
Stream channels vary widely in appearance and character, from those with both bed and banks of bedrock to those with bed and banks of stream-deposited materials. Most streams have reaches with both types of materials in bed and banks. There is much current research in the field of fluvial morphology. Leliavsky (1955) and Leopold, Wolman, and Miller (1964) have extensive bibliographies on the study of channel characteristics.
Bedrock channel characteristics are determined by the discharge of water, the discharge and size of sediment, and by the resistance of the bedrock to abrasion, solution, hydraulic removal of joint blocks and loosening of surface material caused by wetting and drying and by freezing and thawing. Where stream velocities are...
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References
Fahnestock, R. K., 1963, Morphology and hydrology of a glacial stream, White River, Mount Rainier, Wash, U.S. Geol. Surv. Profess. Paper 422A, 70pp.
Fahnestock, R. K., and Maddock, Thomas, Jr., 1964, Preliminary report on bed forms and flow phenomena in the Rio Grande near El Paso, Texas, U.S. Geol. Surv. Profess. Paper 501-B, B140–142.
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Leliavsky, Serge, 1955, An Introduction to Fluvial Hydraulics, London, Constable & Co., 257pp.
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Leopold, L. B., Wolman, M. G., and Miller, J. P., 1964, Fluvial Processes in Geomorphology, San Francisco, William Freeman and Co., 522pp.
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Wolman, M. G., 1955, The natural channel of Brandywine Creek Pa., U.S. Geol. Surv. Profess. Paper 271, 56pp.
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Fahnestock, R.K. (1968). Stream channel characteristics . In: Geomorphology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31060-6_353
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31060-6_353
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