Outer bank Apex

Accretion

𝝋 Inner bank

Valley
Inner bank
Direction
Inner bank

Outer bank
Cross Over Point

The figure shows the typical morphology of a meandering river. Here outer bank is vulnerable to
erosion and inner bank is subjected to accretion. At the cross over points the depth of the river
bed is uniform all over the cross section and the angle for 𝜑 is maximum. But the cross section
near the apex is quite different; because of the process of erosion and accretion, the depth of river
bed is lesser in the portion near to the inner bank and higher in the portion near to the outer bank.

Outer bank Inner bank

River bed at Cross River bed at Apex

Over Point
The aspect ratio is an important factor to understand whether the river channel is wide or narrow.
𝑊𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ 𝐵
𝐴𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 = =
𝐷𝑒𝑝𝑡ℎ ℎ

𝐵
If > 8 then the river channel is wide.
ℎ

𝐵
If < 8 then the river channel is narrow.
ℎ

Meander width
Meander Belt

Braided River:

Consists of a network of river channels separated by small and often temporary bar/islands.

Braided Index:

It indicates the number of channels that a braided system contains.

L1 L2 L4

L3
If L1, L2, L3, L4 are the length of the bar/ islands and L is the total length of river then,

2 × (L1 + L2 + L3 + L4)
𝐵𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑑 𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 =
𝐿
Comparison between meandering and braided river:

1. Erosion: Uncertainty is higher in braided river.

Possible erosion
area in
meandering River

2. Navigation: Navigation is harder in braided river.

3. Aquatic Habitat: In meandering river there is large sinuosity which creates a number of
deep water and shallow water zones that can accommodate a large number of
biodiversity.
But biodiversity is normally greater in braided river because it contains a large number
of bars/islands and the river flow velocity and bed depth is different in different places,
which is a great source of biodiversity.
 Bio Diversity

Highest
value of
Biodiversity

Braided Index

But after a certain value of braided index the bio diversity began to decrease. This is because
the presence of excessive sand bar hinders the comfortable living and growth of biodiversity.

Braided

S0

Meandering

QH
Planform and Channel Stability:

Equation of the super elevation of the river bed:

Primary Primary
Flow Velocity
 mg sinθ

mg cosθ

mg

m u2
Here , 𝑚𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ =
r

u2
or, 𝑠𝑖𝑛θ =
g×r

∆s
Again, sinθ =
B

∆s u2
So, =
B g×r

Inner bank has greater soil fertility (meandering river):

Outer bank
mg sinθ

mg cosθ Inner bank

mg

When erosion starts in outer bank the fine sand get eroded at first and they deposited at the inner
bank by the flow of water . The figure demonstrates the process more clearly. The fine sand is
more fertile that’s why the soil in the inner bank has greater fertility.