A channel through which water is continually flowing downhill is a stream. A large channel in soil that carries runoff after a rainstorm is a gully.
Artificial levees is one traditional flood control method has been to attempt to keep the stream's flow within its channel. A drainage basin is the land area that contributes water to a stream.Ê
The base level is the lowest point to which a stream can erode its channel. This can be the level of the body of water into which the stream flows, such as a lake or ocean, or an artificial structure like a dam. At base level, erosion stops and sediment deposition begins.
The wearing down of soil and bedrock of a river or stream creates a channel, which is a trough or groove formed by the flow of water. This channel path is where the river or stream flows and carries sediment downstream. Over time, erosion can widen and deepen the channel, shaping the landscape.
The path that a stream follows is a channel.
stream channel
stream channel
Gravity pulls the stream channel downward.
When a stream floods, it deposits much of the sediment that it carries onto its floodplain
Channel
Gradient
The path that a stream follows is a channel.