Introduction

• What are fluvial landform: Fluvial landforms are those landforms which are
shaped and modified by the running water.
• Types of fluvial landforms: Fluvial landforms are of two types first is erosional
and second is depositional.

Erosional Process
• Solution or Corrosion.
• Abrasion or Corrasion.
• Attrition.
• Hydraulic Action.
 Sediment Transportation
The stream is an important means of transportation of sediments of varying size and shape to
distant lands much away from their source of origin. The sediments are transported in various
ways depending upon the size of the material; their composition and volume of water.
1. Movement in solution: Materials like sulphate, carbonate, and chloride are dissolved in water
and carried till the end of the stream.
2. Movement in suspension: Very fine particles consisting of sand, silt and mud are kept in
suspension by the river as the volume of water and its speed does not allow particles to settle.
They are always kept in suspension while traveling and therefore are carried for a fairly longer
distance.
3. Movement by traction: Large boulders and pebbles which are heavier for the stream to carry
them by means of suspension or saltation, move by rolling along the stream bed. This rolling
causes abrasion on the bed and for they are in constant contact with the bed. They emerge as
one of the chief erosive agents of stream bed.
4. Movement by saltation: The particles jump and bounce when uprushing water comes with a
force lifting them from the bed to some distance. They cannot be carried long as their weight
is more and therefore cannot be kept in suspension. This type of movement is called saltation.
Sediment Transportation
 Erosional Landforms
• V-shaped Valley: Deep cutting and erosion by rapid flow of the stream carves out a valley that
resembles the English letter V.
 The V shaped valley has a deep and narrow bottom (or valley) floor with steep valley sides.
 V-shaped valley is a standard river valley where vertical erosion dominates with slight lateral
erosion.

• Gorges and Canyons: A gorge is steeper and sometimes have straight walls going straight down.
 Gorge is made when upliftment is in process and the rate of erosion is greater than upliftment.
 Most of the gorges are formed because of active down cutting due to pothole drilling.
 Gorges are also made when the river is flowing on a very hard rock where river cannot erode
laterally and only vertical erosion takes place.
 A gorge is almost always steeper and narrower than a canyon and the extended form of a gorge is
called as a canyon.
 Gorges are also formed due to the recession of waterfalls.
 Indus Gorge near Gilgit, Yarlung Tsangpo gorge near mount Namcha Barwa, Grand Canyon
Colorado river in Arizona, Colca Canyon Peru.
 Colca Canyon Peru twice as deep as grand canyon Copper Canyon Mexico
(13650 feet)

Fish River canyon, Namibia is 1800 feet deep, 100 miles long and Grand Canyon, United States it is 6000 feet deep, 277
18 miles wide. miles long and up to 18 miles wide
 Waterfalls: when enormous amount of water falls from great height the resultant
feature is called as a waterfall. Waterfalls are formed due to sudden break in
the longitudinal course of the river due to many factors such as variation in the
relative resistance of the rocks, relative difference in the topographic relief, fall
in the sea level, rejuvenation etc.

Formation of Waterfalls due to Structural Variations

When rock beds are horizontal: When a hard and resistant rock overlies a very weak
rock, the latter wears down quickly and the resistant rock shows deep undercutting.
The river bed gets steepened at the point giving rise to waterfalls of larger
dimension. Niagara Fall is a perfect example of this type of fall. When water falls
down it makes plunge pool at the bottom also characterized by potholes.

When rock beds are vertical: when alternate resistant and soft rocks are arranged in
vertical manner, soft rocks are eroded away rapidly than the hard rocks thus giving
rise to waterfall of steep slope. Yellowstone river fall is an example of this type of
fall. These falls are also known as vertical barrier falls.
Niagara Falls
Fault and Fracture Falls: Rivers flowing over faulted rock structure give rise to such type of
falls. The fault scarps created during faulting cause the water to fall from a vertical height
resulting in waterfalls. The Victoria Falls of river Zambezi is often cited as an example of this
type of fall.

Falls due to Descend from Uplifted Highlands: When a river flows from the uplifted hard and
resistant rocks (like igneous) to the plain region, It gives rise to waterfalls. Such types of falls
are noticeable in the Appalachian regions where streams have developed numerous falls
because of their descent into the Atlantic coastal plain.
• Hanging valley falls: this types of falls are formed when the valley of master
consequent river is eroded deeper and the subsequent stream joins the consequent
from certain height, give birth to the hanging valley falls. The examples are Rajrappa
fall (10 m) in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The Gautamdhara or Johna falls (25.9 m) is another
example. Yosemite falls in California lies in this category of waterfall.

• Knick Point Waterfalls: this type of waterfalls are formed because of break in the
longitudinal section of the river due to rejuvenation. (Hundru waterfall on Subernarekha
river, near Ranchi city. Dhunwadhar waterfall in Jabalpur MP, Niagara fall in US, Canada on
Niagara river etc).
 Images Showing Pot Holes

Pot-holes: the kettle like small

depression on the beds of the
river valley having cylindrical
shape are called as pot-holes.
The pot-holes of much bigger
size is called as Plunge pool.
• River Terraces: the narrow flat surface on either side of the valley floor are called as river terraces
which represents the level of former valley floor and the remnant of former flood plains. Terraces
are formed because of rejuvenation. When renewed rejuvenation takes place, the process is
repeated and a new pair of terraces is formed beneath the original one. (has created terraces in
its lower course by several stages of rejuvenation).
 Paired Terraces: are formed where the vertical down cutting by the river is faster than the
lateral migration of the river channel (shown in the figure (a)).
 Unpaired Terraces: forms where the channel shifts laterally faster than it cuts down, so
terraces are formed by being cut in turn on each side of the valley (shown in the fig (b)).

Figure: Paired and unpaired terraces: (a) paired,

polycyclic terraces. (b) Unpaired, noncyclic terraces.
The terraces are numbered 1, 2, 3, and so on.
Images Showing River Terraces
 Types of Meanders
• River Meanders: Bends in the longitudinal course of a river is called as river meander. (concave side-severe
erosion-cliff slope side, convex slope-deposition-slip off side). Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghra,, Gandak, Kosi etc.
shows meandering.

• Simple Meanders: the meanders developed during first cycle of erosion, also called as monocyclic meanders.
 Wavy Meanders: the necks are wide apart.
 Horse Shoe Meanders: the beds are highly curved and the meander necks become very narrow due to
lateral erosion and deposition.
 Ox-bow or Bracelet Meanders: these are those meanders having almost circular bends with high
curvature.

• Incised/ inclosed Meanders: these meanders show the features of rejuvenation and are formed due to
vertical erosion (either due to upliftment of land or fall in sea level).
 Entrenched/ intrenched Meanders: having uniform slopes of both the valley sides of meander loops.
 Ingrown Meanders: which have un equal slopes of valley sides (concave side, cliff slope is deeply
undercut having steep slope and convex side, slip-off side is having gentle slope.

• Misfit Meanders: formed within an extensive former meander due to decrease in the volume of water. When
volume of water decreases the channel unable to fit itself in the broader valley and hence they develop their
own meandering course of narrow valley within the wider meander.
River Meander
River Meander
Images Showing Incised Meanders
Image Showing Misfit Meander
 Images Showing Ox-bow Lakes

Ox-bow Lake: when the meandering

of the river is so increased that the
two loop of the meanders comes so
closer due to lateral erosion that they
join together and stream becomes
straight leaving behind an ox-bow
lake.
• Peneplains: when erosion transforms an uplifted landscape into a low lying
featureless plain characterized by small convexo-concave (monadnocks) hills is
called as peneplain.
• Alluvial Fans and Cones:
 Alluvial fans have gentle slopes (5°) than the cones (15°). The shape is semi-
circular/arcuate.
 The diameter of fan ranges from a few kilometers to several hundred kilometers.
 Formation of alluvial fans requires more water and less debris but alluvial cones requires
more debris and less water.
 Firstly fans grow in size due to increase in their areal extent secondly (planimetric), alluvial
fans grow in height (volumetric).
 The gradual increase in height of alluvial fan causes increase in slope gradient and alluvial
cones are formed.
 When several alluvial fans are coalesced then compound alluvial fans are formed.
 Fluvial Depositional Landforms
• Natural levees/ embankment:
 The narrow belt of ridges built by deposition of sediments by spilling water on either side
of the bank of the stream is called as natural levees.
 They owe their origin to the regular flooding of the river. During floods the river
overflowing its bank leaves behind a good amount of material.
 The material due to regular occurrence consolidates into small embankments known as
Natural Levees.
 These Levees sometimes rise very high as they grow with each successive flood.
• Delta: Deltas are formed at the river mouth where river meets the sea or ocean.
• Formed because of deposition of sediments in old stage.
• Sediments are deposited on the basis of size.
• The term delta was coined by Herodotus after Greek letter

Conditions for Delta Formation Classification of Delta

• Shallow sea or lake. • Arcuate delta.
• Long course of river. • Birdfoot delta.
• Medium size of sediments. • Estuarine delta.
• Calm sea. • Truncated delta.
• Large amount of sediments supply. • Blocked Delta.
• Stable condition (no tectonic activity). • Abandoned Delta
• Delta: Deltas are formed at the river mouth where river meets the sea or ocean.
• Formed because of deposition of sediments in old stage.
• Sediments are deposited on the basis of size.
• The term delta was coined by Herodotus after Greek letter delta.

Conditions for Delta Formation Classification of Delta

• Shallow sea or lake. • Arcuate delta.
• Long course of river. • Birdfoot delta.
• Medium size of sediments. • Estuarine delta.
• Calm sea. • Truncated delta.
• Large amount of sediments supply. • Blocked Delta.
• Stable condition (no tectonic activity). • Abandoned Delta
• Arcuate delta: arcuate delta is the most common type of delta. It appears like an arc of a
circle. They have smooth coastline due to the action of wave. The shape of delta also
depends upon the amount of water and sediments transported. The sediments axist across
all the distributaries. The waves constantly pushes it back resulting in a smooth coastline.
The example includes the delta of Nile, Ganga, Indus, Rhode, Rhine, Meekong, Danube,
Leena etc.
• Estuarine Delta: the deltas formed due to the filling of estuaries are called as estuarine
delta. The mouth of the river that are submerged under marine water is called as estuary.
(example: the delta of Narmada and Tapti rivers are examples of estuarine delta).
• Abandoned Delta: this type of delta is formed as a river develops a new channel, leaving
the other to dry up or stagnate. This process is called as avulsion. Avulsion occurs when the
slope of a channel decreases and the sediment built-up increases, the channel is blocked
and river overflows its bank or levees and find a steeper and more direct route to ocean.
The previous delta becomes abandoned.
• Truncated Delta: sea waves and ocean currents modify and even destroy delta deposits by
the river through erosion. This eroded and dissected delta is called as truncated delta.
• Blocked Delta: when the growth of the delta is ceased by the sea waves and ocean
currents through their erosional activities is called as blocked delta.
• Bird-foot delta: they are called as bird-foot delta because they resembles the
shape of foot of a bird sometimes also referred as Finger Delta. Mississippi
delta is the best example of this type of delta.
Images Showing Arcuate Delta
Images Showing Birdfoot Delta