braided channel

A river channel in which have been deposited bars and islands around which the river flows. It has been shown that, for a given discharge, braided channels slope more steeply than meandering channels. Braiding occurs when the discharge fluctuates frequently, when the river cannot carry its full load, where the river is wide and shallow, where banks are easily eroded, and where there is a copious bedload, as is common in periglacial environments. The position of the bars is changeable; sediment may be entrained by scour at channel junctions and then be redeposited down-channel, as flows diverge again, and new channels are cut by overbank flooding. Braiding differs from anastomosis in that the islands are less permanent.