Shape in Plan:- (Plan View)

The plane formed of alluvial streams can be classified into the following 3 categories. 1) Braided Stream 2) Straight Stream 3) Meandering Stream

1) Braided Stream:-- A braided stream can be defined as one which flows in two or more channels around alluvial islands.

--According to Leopold and Wolman a braided pattern develops after local deposition of coarser material which cannot be transported under local conditions existing in the reach. -- The coarse material becomes the nucleus of a bar and subsequently rose into an island. -- The formation of a bar reflects the main stream towards the bank and causes erosion. -- A braided stream usually has a) Steeper Slope b) Larger Width c) Shallow Depth

2) Straight Stream:-- A straight stream is usually not found in natural river even though the channel is straight, the line of maximum depth (thalweg) moves back and forth from one bank to another.

-- Sometimes deposits of sediments are also found adjacent to the bank in alternating positions.

3) Meandering Stream:For a meandering river thalweg is closer to concave banks.

Definition Sketch of Meander Geometry:-

Leopold and Wolman (1960)

Gave empirical equations

= 10.9B1.01 a = 2.7B1.1 = 4.7rc0.98

Using condition Fully developed Meander

all units are in feet ( ft )

Theories Of Meandering:1) Earths Rotation Theory 2) Disturbance Theory 3) Helicoidal flow theory

1) Earths Rotation Theory:-- An object moving over the surface of the earth experiences a transverse force normal to its path. -- This force is known as Coriolis force. -- It represents the inertial reluctance of a moving body to participate in the rotational movement of the earth. -- Gilbert stated that the force produced by the earths rotation is sufficient to deflect the stream. -- However it has been shown that the force due to earths rotation is very small.

2) Disturbance Theory:-- According to this theory the disturbance caused in straight channel travels down stream in such a way to cause change in flow pattern resulting in meanders. -- The initial disturbance could be caused by various circumstances. -- Griggs argued that an overloaded stream can deposit some of its load behind the obstacle and thus cause an asymmetry in flow which might lead to meandering. -- Friedkin obtained meander patterns by allowing water to enter a straight channel at an angle to the horizontal.

3) Helicoidal Slope Theory:-- Helicoidal flow is also called secondary flow. -- Many investigators content that meandering is the result of helicoidal slope. It is supposed that the secondary floe pattern should be unsymmetrical before it could produce meandering.

Hydraulic Geometry:The hydraulic geometry refers to the interrelationship among water discharge, stream width, depth, velocity and landforms of the rivers.

Leopold and Maddock (1953)

B = CaQa D = CbQb u = CcQc Qs = CdQd

(Stream Width) (Depth) (Velocity) ( Discharge)

[m] [m] [m] [m/s]

Ca , Cb , Cc , Cd are all constants. a,b,c,d = exponents Q = water discharge, Qs = sediment discharge

Base Level:The lowest level to which a river bed can be reduced is called base level. Sea level is generally considered as a base level.

Characteristics of Alluvial Planes:Natural Levees:-- When a river overflows its banks during time of high water its velocity is chequed abruptly. -- The sudden decrease in velocity causes in the shape of avery thin wedge. -- Thicker accumulation of coarser material deposited along the banks of the channel and finer sediments are spread pver the rest of flood plain. -- numerous repetition of this process may produce with low ridges along each side of the channel. Such ridges are called natural levees.

Oxbow Lakes:-

-- As meanders vibrate down a valley and shift laterally the neck portion tends to narrow and may eventually cut through. -- Perhaps this occurs because the down valley migration of one meander is slowed by more resistant materials in its path. -- Thus the following meander in the upstream gradually impinges upon it. -- Sediment may be deposited at the entrances to a former channel and a crescent shape oxbow lake may result.

Alluvial Fans:-- Alluvial forms are common where streams flow abruptly from steeper to gentler gradients. For example at the base of the mountain. -- The abrupt decrease in the velocity causes the stream to drop most of its sediment load near the base of the mountain. -- When enough sediment piles up at one location the stream shifts laterally. -- This process repeats many times and eventually a fan shape mass of debris is built up.

Glacial Landforms:Glacier:A glacier has been defined as a mass of ice that has formed from compacted recrystallized snow which is moving and which lies on land There are two types of glaciers 1) Valley glacier 2) Ice Sheet

1) Valley Glacier:-

-- A valley glacier moves down a channel previously eroded by a stream. -- It may be wide and long with numerous tributary glacier.

2) Ice Sheet:-- An ice sheet is a very extensive mass of ice that spreads radially outward from a central area and rests like a blanket upon the surface. -- It is not confined to a single channel. -- Continental ice sheets may be a mile or more thick and completely bury millions of square miles.

Glaciers Grow and Shrink:-- In some areas of the earth surface not all of winter snowfall melts during the succeeding summer. -- In the polar regions such things occur at every altitude but in equatorial areas they occur only at the top if high mountains. -- Thus each year in certain parts of these areas the snow piles higher and higher. -- When sufficient ice has piled up on a slope gravity moves it gradually to a lower altitude. -- A thickness of 100 feet or more of ice usually occurs before movement starts. -- The rate of flow of glacier varies from 100 feet per day to a few feet per day. -- Valley glaciers reshape their valleys by widening, deepening and straightening them. -- The typical V shaped cross-section of a youthful mountain valley stream is altered to steep sided, flat U shape cross-section.

Landform Produced by Glacial Deposition:1) 2) 3) 4) Moraines Kames Cattle holes Outwash Plain

1) Moraines:-- Moraines are topographic features ranging from irregular sheets to low ridges. -- The sheets and ridges are composed of rock debris that has been transported and deposited by ice. -- Moraines are also classified by lateral, medial and end moraines.

Lateral & Medial Moraines :-- These are associated with valley glaciers. -- Glacial erosion steepens valley walls and thus increases the amount of rock debris that slides onto the margins of ice to form low ridges. These ridges are called lateral margin moraines. -- The lateral moraines of tributary glaciers subsequently become the medial moraine of the main glacier.

End moraine :-- If forward flow and wastage are in equilibrium the front of the glacier remains in the same location even though the ice continues to flow forward from uphill portion. -- New supplies of rock debris are continuously brought by the moving ice to this location and are dumped. -- A ridge of material which is called an end moraine thus forms along the margin of an ice sheet or along the down valley terminal of a valley glacier.

2) Eskers, Kames, Cattle holes:-- Theses topographic features are made of glacial drift deposited by streams in contact with ice. -- Eskers are a sinuous ridge that is composed chiefly of stratified sand and gravel. -- It may wide across the earth surface for many miles. -- Eskers are generally parallel to the direction of ice movement. -- It seems to have formed from sediments deposited by streams flowing on the surface of a stagnant ice near the margin of a glacier. -- When the ice melted, these materials piled up on the surface as an elongated ridge.

Kames & Cattle holes :-- Kames and cattle holes commonly occur together. -- Kames are generally small rounded hills consisting chiefly of stratified sand and gravel. -- Cattle holes are basins or depressions that have formed in stratified drifts. -- Kames may form wherever streams on the ice are made to drop their sediments abruptly enough, for example by flowing into a hole. -- Ice may be separated into blocks by interlocking network of cracks. -- Eventually melting of the ice under these conditions produces many irregular hills and depressions. -- Hills are called Kames and depressions are called cattle holes.

3) Outwash:-- Beyond the edge of ice gradients are commonly less sharp and channels are wider. -- If an end moraine is forming streams may flow through the gaps in the end moraines and deposit sediments as alluvial fans. -- A series of alluvial fans may form in front of end moraines and coalesce to produce an outwash plain. (Combine)

Coastal Deposits :-

Beach/Shore:The zone of unconsolidated material that extends from the low water line to the place where there is permanent vegetation.

Backshore:coast line.

The zone of the shore lying between the HWL and the

Foreshore:Inshore:Offshore:The zone extending sea-ward from the breaker zone to the area of high turbulence created by pollution of backwashing water mud and incoming waves. The zone between the HWL and the LWL. The zone lying between the LWL to the breaker zone.

Coastal Process :-- The hydraulic and morphological processes in coastal zones are governed by (1) winds (2) tides. -- Winds are directly responsible for the transport of sand on the beach by generation of waves and currents. -- In most cases the sediment transport and resulting changes in the bed topography are governed by the direct effect of waves and currents.

Littoral Transport:-- Littoral transport is defined as the movement of sediment material in the littoral zone that is the zone close to the shore line. -- The transport is classified as long shore transport and cross shore transport. -- Longshore transport has an average net direction parallel to the shoreline. -- Sediment movement by longshore transport will generally not return to the same area. -- Cross shore transport moves sediment from one place to another along beach profile and sediment is often move back again.

Summer and Winter Profile :-- In winter, sediment is moved from offshore and beach slope in the surf zone becomes gentler. -- As a result one or more offshore bars may form. -- Summer profiles are usually described as accretion profile. -- Sand is transported to onshore and a new bar is created. -- Because of these onshore sediment transport the slopes in the surf zone becomes gentler.

Dune Formation :-- Onshore directed wind transport sand grains and resulting deposition creates dunes. -- Dunes in some areas (i.e. the Netherlands) can be as high as tens of meters. -- The prevailing wind direction related to the coast line play an important role in dune formation. -- Developed dunes have been formed along the west coast of Hooland and wind blows perpendicular to the coast towards south west direction.

Deltas :-- A delta develops around a location where an estuary discharges water and sediments to a coast. -- As the discharge passes the estuary the flow will spread out, reducing the current strength and hence the sediment transport capacity. -- Material will be deposited and ultimately deltas will be formed.

Tombolo :-- An obstacle before a coast such as a rock outcropping and offshore break water or even a shipwreck will reduce the wave activity in the zone of the wave, shadow between the object and the shore. -- Since the reduced wave activity in the shadow will result in a reduced sediment transport capacity, material will be depositted in the shadow zone forming a tombolo. -- The development of tombolo depends on longshore transport.

Spit :-- A spit is a pointed tongue extended into the sea. -- Its direction is usually continuation of the shoreline from which sediment supplied. -- The basic difference between spit and delta is that in case of delta sediments come from the river.

Barrier :-- Barriers are formed when there is sufficient supply of beach material from offshore and the bottom bathymetry is such that the waves break at some distance from coast. (Not from shoreline) -- A barrier will form at this shallow zone where the waves break. -- The supply of sand will eventually build up bern isolated from the shore which becomes the barrier.

Wind (Aeolian) Deposition :Transportation of sediments by wind :Wind transports sediments by two methods. 1) -- Tiny particles of the size of clay and silt can be carried long distance in suspension. -- As they move along they encounter enough upward current here and there to keep themfrom fslling to the ground. 2) On the other hand sand size and larger pieces cannot be lifted or supported by the average strong wind and are rolled or moved by jumps along the ground which is termed as saltation.

Wind Erosion :Wind erosion occurs in two ways.

1) Abrasion :Abrasion is done by direct impact of wind load on sand particles which is termed as drag force.

2) Lifting :Lifting is done due to the creation of a suction zone in the leeward face of the sand particle. Leeward face is opposite to the windward face.