Stream Geomorphology

Watershed
The line that demarcates the topographic
shedding of the water across the
landscape.

Catchment
The area of a landscape within the
watershed boundary that routes water to the
river network.

Basin Characteristics
Drainage Area
Area from ridge to ridge that contributes to the water
supply of the stream
Usually determined from topographic maps

Drainage Density
Length of perennial channels divided by drainage area

Stream Network- Order

Stream order (Strahler 1952)
Perennial streams without tributaries are termed firstorder
When two streams of equal order come together, the
downstream reach is increased one order

Stream Network- Link Magnitude

Link Magnitude (Shreve 1966)
Each junction is a link
Link magnitude is the sum of the links
Exterior link magnitude includes the lower channel (n)
Interior link magnitude is 1 less than exterior link
magnitude (n-1)

Hydraulics
Discharge: volume of water passing a point per
unit time
cubic feet per second (cfs) or cubic meters per second
(cm3/s)

Q=V*A
Q = V * width *depth

Velocity: rate of movement of water

meters per second (m/s) or feet per second (f/s)
mean velocity occurs at 60% of the depth

Hydraulics- Velocity profile

Measuring velocity
Float the orange: record the amount of
time it takes an object to travel a measured
distance
Spinning cup: records number of
revolutions made by a series of rotating cups
(like a horizontal paddle wheel)
Electronic sensor: submersible sensor
records differences in pressure

What Affects Velocity?

Depth
Slope
Wetted perimeter
Hydraulic radius
Roughness

Uniform Flow Theory

Manning equation (1889)
1
R2/3 S1/2
n
V = Velocity
n = Mannings Roughness coefficient
R = Hydraulic radius
S = Slope
V =

Uniform Flow Theory

Manning Equation solved for discharge (Q)
1
Q = A R2/3 S1/2
n
Q = Discharge
A = Cross-sectional Area

Mannings n
Measures channel roughness
Assumes:
Uniform channel configuration, which assumes:
depth, cross-sectional area, and velocity are uniform
throughout the reach
water surface and streambed are parallel throughout
the reach
Which means:

These assumptions are net met in natural

channels!!!!

Mannings n
Range of Mannings n:
Between 0.008 (glass) and 0.2 (many
obstructions)
Commonly between 0.025 and 0.1

Typical Mannings n in natural channels

gravel, cobble and boulders n = 0.040
cobble with large boulders n = 0.050
floodplain with trees n = 0.12

Channel Cross Sections

Area (A): cross-sectional area of flow (m2)
Wetted Perimeter (WP): length of wetted contact
between water and the stream bed along a cross-sectional
transect (m)

Hydraulic Radius (R): Area/Wetted Perimeter

Velocity (v): rate of water flow (m/s)
Discharge (Q): AV (m3/s)
Slope (S): Change in elevation over distance (m/m)

Substrate
Wentworth scale of substrate size:

Boulder: greater than 25.6 cm

Cobble: 6.4 - 25.6 cm
Gravel: 0.2 - 6.4 cm
Sand: 0.006 - 0.2 cm
Silt: < 0.006 cm

Valley Landforms
Drainage network- total valley floor within a
basin

Section- length of valley that represents a

common landform origin and often is
topographically delineated
Example
Montane section
Lowland valley
Marine terraces

Valley Landforms- Reach Scale

Reach Type- Length of valley influenced by
adjacent hillslope landforms
Constrained Reaches: valley width <2 active
channel widths
Unconstrained reaches: valley width >2 active
channel widths

Valley Landforms- Valley features

Terraces- upper surfaces which may be of fluvial origin
and are formed during extremely rare events

Floodplain fluvial surface created by floods that occur

less frequently than average flood discharges (decades to
centuries)

Active channel area of channel being actively modified

by average stream discharges

Valley Floor Features

Terrace
Floodplain

Active Channel
Wetted Channel

Describing the Channel

Longitudinal Profiles
Valley Landforms
Valley Floor Components
Channel Units
Channels Subunits
Channel Cross Section

Longitudinal Profiles
Diagrammatic representation of change in
elevation with distance
Steeper gradients in the headwaters
Gradient expressed as percent or degrees (100%
= 45 degrees)

Channel Characteristics
Longitudinal Profiles

The Active Channel

Active channel (Bankfull Width) area of channel being
actively modified by average stream floods

Average stream floods occur approximately every

two years in most basins
Equals the wetted channel plus the active channel
shelf
Wetted Channel: area of wetted stream bed
Active channel shelf: portion of channel exposed at low
flow but inundated at normal high flow

Channel Units
Channel Unit: Length of active channel that
represents common process of bedform
development at high flow
Each unit must be longer than one active
channel width

Channel Units - Pools

Low gradient
Little surface turbulence
No supercritical flow

Channel Units- Riffles

Slightly higher gradient
Turbulent water surface
Supercritical flow less than 10%

Erosional or depositional?
Pools:
Depositional at low flow
Erosional at high flow (and over time)
Areas of low velocity at low flow and high velocity during
floods

Riffles:
Erosional at low flow
Depositional at high flow
Areas of high velocity at low flow and areas of low
velocity during floods

Erosional or depositional?

Summary

Q = VA
Velocity is affected by many things
Velocity affects many things
Stream channels are dynamic