Monday, 13 April 2015

CHANGING CHANNEL CHARACTERISTICS- Channel cross profiles

Channel cross profiles

The channel cross profile = view of the river bed + banks - one side to the other - any one point on it course. 
As a river flows from its source to its mouth= a number of typical changes take place in the channel morhology.
Upper course:
Channel = narrow and uneven- presence of deposted boulders. 
Where both banks = eroded = channels = broadly rectangular in shape.
Middle course:
Meanders
Channel= asymmetrical- on the river bends
             = mainly smooth + symmetrical - on the straight stretches.
Lower course:
River widens + deepens further
Banks of deposition + eyots (islands of deposition) = can disrupt the shape of the channel cross-section=  a braided channel. 
Levees (embankments) =  either side of the channel (can also be man-made)

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