River channel

A river channel is the landform that confines flowing river water, shaped by erosion, sediment transport, and deposition.

Fluvial processes: The erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment by flowing water. These processes create and continually modify river channels.
Channel cross-section: A vertical profile showing a channel’s shape and dimensions across its flow. Cross-sections capture the channel geometry used in measurement and modeling.
River engineering: The planning and construction of works that manage rivers and their interactions with people. Engineering projects alter channel geometry to manage flow, erosion, or access.
Channel migration: The movement of a river channel across its valley over time. Erosion and deposition can relocate the channel and threaten nearby land or structures.
Stream: A body of flowing surface water confined within a channel. The broader term includes channels of many sizes, including rivers.
Stream power: A measure of the rate at which flowing water can do work on its bed and banks. It helps explain where channel flow can erode banks or move bed material.
Thalweg: The line connecting the deepest points along a river channel. It traces the channel’s deepest route, which often guides the main current.
River restoration: The practice of repairing ecological and hydrological functions in degraded rivers. Restoration often seeks to recover channel processes and habitat diversity.
River incision: The downward erosion of a river into its bed or underlying material. Incision lowers the channel bed and can disconnect it from its floodplain.
Intermittent river: A river that flows only during certain seasons or after sufficient rainfall. Its channel may remain dry during periods when perennial rivers continue flowing.

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