Dam bank river

A dam bank river (also called dam river ) is a river whose banks are formed by natural dams. Due to the continuous deposition of sediments (also in the bank area), the river constantly increases the embankment of its bed and flows in self-created channels above the level of the floodplain . The embankments cause tributaries to flow parallel for longer stretches before they finally flow either into the river or into the sea parallel to it.

If a bank wall breaks (e.g. after floods ), a tributary arises in the deeper areas until these are also filled with sediment. Depending on the height of the embankments, dam bank lakes can arise, which are often boggy. Branched dam bank rivers are mostly referred to as anastomosing rivers .

Today, man-made dams largely prevent these rivers from emerging from their beds during flood times.

Examples of dam bank rivers:

• Huanghe
• Po
• Mississippi River

Examples of parallel tributaries:

• on the Upper Rhine the Ill , formerly also the Neckar
• in the Vistula delta the Motlawa , before 1200 also the Nogat
• the Wertach in the lower Lechtal
• The Malxe reaches the Lusatian Neisse valley from the southwest, but left it again through an glacial valley towards the Spree until the 20th century , without releasing water into the Neisse.

swell

• Geography lexicon: river branching On: geodz.com
• Geography lexicon: anastomosing river On: geodz.com