What is an Anabranching channel?

What is an Anabranching channel?

anabranching channel A type of distributary river channel that separates from its trunk stream and may flow parallel to it for several kilometres before rejoining it. The anabranching channel remains undivided, and so differs from an anastomosing channel which has major distributaries that branch and then rejoin it.

What is a wandering river?

A fluvial channel with alternate stable single-channel reaches, and unstable multi-channel sedimentation zones. This term has also been applied to channels which are midway between meandering and braiding.

What is a braided river system?

A braided river, or braided channel, consists of a network of river channels separated by small, often temporary, islands called braid bars or, in English usage, aits or eyots.

What are straight channels?

Straight channels, mainly unstable, develop along the lines of faults and master joints, on steep slopes where rills closely follow the surface gradient, and in some delta outlets. Flume experiments show that straight channels of uniform cross section rapidly develop pool-and-riffle sequences.

What is the difference between a meandering river and a braided river?

Differences between braided and meandering river deposits Meandering rivers contain abundant suspended sediment, which is deposited in ox bow lakes and on floodplains. In contrast, braided river bar migration occurs in multiple directions.

Is the Amazon River a braided river?

Braided rivers are found in places where the river carries a lot of sediment, and when it slows down and spreads out. The river delta of the Amazon River is a good example on a huge scale, and the Waimakariri River is a good example on a smaller scale.

What is river braiding?

A braided river is a network of small channels separated by islands that are often not fixed. In other words, the river channels wander across a flat area. Braided rivers are found in places where the river carries a lot of sediment, and when it slows down and spreads out.

What’s the difference between an anabranch and an anastomosing river?

The term anabranching river describes a river with many anabranches, whilst an anastomosing river is an organic-rich subset of this river type. The term braided river describes watercourses which are divided by small islands into multiple channel threads within a single main channel,…

Where can I find the definition of an anabranch?

Look up anabranch in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. An anabranch is a section of a river or stream that diverts from the main channel or stem of the watercourse and rejoins the main stem downstream.

Where is the Great Darling Anabranch in NSW?

In western New South Wales the Great Darling Anabranch is the ancestral path of the Darling River, dividing south of Menindee and extending for 460 km before joining the Murray River. The anabranch contains flowing water only in wetter years.

Why are there so many anabranches in Australia?

Local anabranches can be the result of small islands in the watercourse. In larger anabranches, the flow can diverge for a distance of several kilometers before rejoining the main channel. The term anabranch, in its hydrological meaning, is used more frequently in Australia than in the rest of the English-speaking world.