The Form of Rivers

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 356.

The form of Rivers depends upon many factors. Water runs downhill under the influence of gravity, the flow of the water being characteristically turbulent, with swirls and eddies. The overall long profile of a river valley is concave upwards, however much its gradient (its slope or fall in a given distance) may vary. The velocity of the stream increases with the gradient, but also depends on other factors, including the position within the river channel, the degree of turbulence, the shape and course of the channel, and the stream load (transported materials).