A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream or river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. A stream is a body of Water with a current, confined within a bed and stream-banks "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there The lateral confines (channel margins) during all but flood stage are known as the stream banks or river banks. In fact, a flood occurs when a stream overflows its banks and flows onto its flood plain. A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge ||-||-||-||-||-||-||-||}A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a Stream or River that experiences occasional or periodic As a general rule, the bed is that part of the channel just at the "normal" water line, and the banks are that part above the water line. Physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a River, slough or ocean Strait consisting of a bed and banks However, because water flow varies, this differentiation is subject to local interpretation. Usually the bed is kept clear of terrestrial vegetation, whereas the banks are subjected to water flow only during unusual or perhaps infrequent high water stages, and therefore might support vegetation some or much of the time.
The descriptive terms 'right bank' and 'left bank' always apply from the perspective of looking downstream (in the direction the current is going). A current, in a River or Stream, is the Flow of Water influenced by Gravity as the water moves Downhill to reduce its
The nature of any stream bed is always a function of the flow dynamics and the local geologic materials influenced by that flow. With small streams in mesophytic regions, the nature of the stream bed is strongly responsive to conditions of precipitation runoff. Mesophytes are terrestrial Plants which are adapted to neither a particularly dry nor particularly wet environment In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric Surface runoff is a term used to describe when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess Water, from Rain, Snowmelt, or other sources flows Where natural conditions of either grassland or forest ameliorate peak flows, streambeds are stable, possibly rich with organic matter, and exhibit minimal scour. Grasslands (also called greenswards) are areas where the Vegetation is dominated by Grasses ( Poaceae) and other Herbaceous (non-woody A forest is an area with a high density of Trees There are many definitions of a forest based on various criteria These streams support a rich biota. Where conditions produce unnatural levels of runoff, such as occurs below roads, the streambeds will exhibit a greater amount of scour, often down to bedrock, and banks may be undercut. This process greatly increases watershed erosion and results in thinner soils upslope from the stream bed as the channel adjusts to the increase in flow.
See also
Armor, in Hydrology and Geography is the association of surface Pebbles rocks or Boulders with Stream beds or Beaches Most The benthic zone is the ecological region at the lowest level of a Body of water such as an Ocean or a Lake, including the sediment surface and some sub-surface The hyporheic zone is a region beneath and lateral to a Stream bed, where there is mixing of shallow Groundwater and Surface water.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic