110117 - braided rivers

In the classification of rivers, there are four different fluvial styles:  meandering (one very curvy channel), straight (one straight channel), anastomosing (multiple laterally stable channels), and braided (multiple laterally unstable channels).  A river may flow through all four fluvial styles along its length.  The primary variables controlling fluvial styles are the slope and sediment load of the river. 

Braided rivers are most often found where there are young, rapidly eroding mountains (Canada, Alaska, South Island of New Zealand, Himalayas).  Individual channels in a braided river can behave like a meandering, straight, or anastomosing river.  See examples of braided rivers below:

Rakaia River – South Island, New Zealand

(from Google Earth)
  

 Brahmaputra River, Tibet

(from NASA Visible Earth)
  

 Dibang River, Arunachal Pradesh, India

(from Google Earth)
  

 Athabasca River – Alberta, Canada

(from Google Earth) 

The studio will use the operative and organizational characteristics of braided rivers as a basis for a map dealing with multiples and change over time.  To begin your braided river map (described in the first handout), first select a section of river.  Use NASA's Visible Earth website, Google Earth, or another source to find an appropriate image.  The image must be a satellite view from directly above.  Like the examples here, the image you select must be at a location where the river becomes relatively wide and contains many individual channels.