River Valley Development
A river has a life cycle from source to mouth. The processes at
work cause changes to the river valley and river features in the
landscape that it passes over.
Traditionally this cycle has been described in 3 stages, the Upper
(Torrent) section, the Middle (Valley) section and the Lower (Flood
Plain) section. The terminology's Youthful, Mature and Old have
also been used to describe the sections.
The stages are not clearly defined but merge from one to the other
and rivers show individual characteristics. There are river features
that can be defined within a broad pattern.
A typical long profile:
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