(a) With the aid of diagrams, describe the characteristics of any two of the following features: (i) meanders; (ii) flood plain; (iii) braided stream.
Explanation
(a) Meaders (1) Formed when the rivers are unable to go straight because of reduction in velocity of the river (2) Winding of a river in loops along the river channel (3) Found at the middle / lower courses of a river (4) Where there is a wide flood plain (5) Active erosion on the concave side (6) Deposition on the convex side (b) Flood plain (a) This is a gently sloping plane of alluvium covering the valley floor along which the river flows in a meandering channel (b) Flood plain is made up of sediments deposited on low land areas of the river valley (c) Deposition usually takes place during the annual flooding of a river hence the name 'flood plain' which is associated with the part of the river where it occurs (d) Feature of middle /lower course of a river (e) Usually fertile soil for agriculture (f) Deposits are sorted —coarser materials are deposited before the finer ones. (c) Braided Stream (1) A feature of a lower course of a river (2) Rivers break into several channels and later rejoin and split again (3) It starts with the building up of a complex tangle of channels (4) Has been blocked by deposit of sand bars on the flow of the river (5) These depositions along the course of the river cause the river to break into several channels which later rejoin to form 'braided' stream