Knowra Stream bed Stream bed A stream bed is the bottom of a flowing-water channel, formed from sediment, rock, or other material. Its shape and composition change as water transports and deposits sediment.
Fluvial processes : The processes by which flowing water erodes, transports, and deposits material. These processes shape the bed and move its sediment downstream.
Sediment : Particles of mineral, rock, or organic matter that are transported and deposited by natural processes. Sediment forms much of the material composing stream beds.
Stream habitat : The physical and biological conditions that support organisms in and around a stream. Bed material provides shelter, spawning sites, and feeding surfaces for aquatic organisms.
Gravel-bed river : A river whose mobile bed is composed mainly of gravel-sized sediment. Its coarse bed supports distinctive bars, bedforms, and sediment-transport patterns.
Bed load : Sediment transported by a stream along or near its bed, mainly by rolling, sliding, and hopping. Bed load moves across the channel bottom and can build or scour bedforms.
Grain size : A measure of the diameter of individual sediment particles. Grain size helps determine when bed material begins to move and how quickly it settles.
Spawning gravel : Gravel in which fish deposit eggs, allowing water to circulate through the spaces between grains. Its size, cleanliness, and oxygen supply can determine whether eggs develop successfully.
Sand-bed river : A river whose mobile bed is composed mainly of sand-sized sediment. Its bed commonly develops ripples and dunes under flowing water.
Suspended load : Fine sediment carried within flowing water rather than in sustained contact with the bed. It settles onto the bed when flow slows or water loses transport capacity.
Bedrock channel : A river or stream channel whose bed and banks are largely exposed bedrock. Bedrock beds differ from alluvial beds because loose sediment does not cover most of the channel bottom.
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