Fluvial Environments

Terminology of
the
subenvironments

Meandering rivers.- based on

the recognition of point bars
from their distinctive vertical
profle

Sediments in meandering rivers

may be gravel-, sand- or siltdominated.

The lateral accretion of the

point
bar
is
the
most
distinctive
feature
of
meandering-river
deposits,
but some bars in braided rivers
also exhibit lateral accretion.

Braided river is characterized by a wide active valley with several or many

component channels of varying sinuosity

The main sediment load

may be sand or gravel

Individual channels
undergo rapid migration,
switches in position and
abandonment
The deposits of braided rives are typically composed of an assemblage of crossbedded fragments
of bar deposits, exhibiting accretion directions oriented in almost any direction, the most common
being downstream and oblique to channel orientation.

Anastomosed rivers occur in areas of active vertical aggradation, such as coastal systems
during a time of rapidly rising sea level, and in the case of inland systems where a river valley is
backflling behind a constriction
Many channels of variable sinuosity
occur

Broad foodplains occur between the channels

These may be wetlands, peat swamps or
desiccated fats, depending on the climate

They are relatively stable in position,

showing little or no evidence of the
lateral migration common to the
meandering and braided styles

Straight rivers occur in areas of very low slope, such as near base level. As such, they are
most common as the distributaries of certain deltas.

Although the river itself

may be nearly straight,
there is typically a slightly
sinuous deep channel, and
long, narrow bars, called
alternate bars, accumulate
along the banks inside the
meanders defned by this
channel.