L.O.

6
CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH-GRADIENT STREAMS:
The word “river” is usually used for a flow in a
relatively large channel

The word “stream” is usually used for a flow in a

relatively small channel

Very small streams are often called brooks or creeks

The gradient is the slope of a stream or river

The headwaters are the areas of the river system

that are farthest away from the mouth of the river.

Slopes of the land surface are generally much

steeper at the headwaters than in the lower parts of
the river system
High-gradient streams can move very large particles
on the streambed. During floods, the particles can
be the size of large boulders.

Erosion of a valley by a stream is called downcutting

Sometimes streams cut straight down to form

canyons with vertical walls. However, usually the
valley is in the form of a “V” with steeply sloping
sides.

It is too rapid for the valleys to widen out to form

floodplains.

High-gradient streams tend to have a relatively high

velocity

Stream discharge is the volume of water passing a

point along the river in a unit of time

The discharge is measured in cubic feet per second

called cusecs , or in cubic meters per second called
cumecs.
LOW-GRADIENT STREAMS
Meandering Streams:
There are big differences between high-gradient and
low-gradient streams

A meandering stream is a stream with a channel

that curves or loops back and forth on a wide
floodplain.

Each curve is called a meander bend or meander

loop

The area of the floodplain on the inside of the

meander bend shows a large number of these
ridges, called meander scars
Streams and the Hydrologic Cycle :
The main factor that influences stream discharge is
precipitation in the drainage area of a stream.

Water can enter the stream from the groundwater

system. This can be from the melting of snow or
glaciers, or the release of water from reservoirs

The flow of water in streams is closely connected to

the groundwater system

Outflow from aquifers is a major source of water for

many rivers, especially during periods of drought

Groundwater that leaves an aquifer and flows into

the bed of a stream is referred to as base flow
Hazards: Floods on Low-Gradient Streams :
The height of the water surface in a river channel,
relative to sea level, at a given place along the river
is called the stage of the river

In areas that are not agricultural, cleaning up the

sediment left by a flood is an expensive, labor-
intensive job.

Efforts along one section of a river can increase the

effects of flooding along other sections downstream

As sediment is deposited along the banks, ridges

called natural levees are formed