Inland Fisheries

6.1.5 Components of a typical flood plain

According to Leopold et al., (1964), a typical floodplain will include the following

i. The river channel

ii. Ox bow lakes : cut off portion of meander bends of river.

iii. Point bars : these are loci of deposition on the convex side of curves in the channel.

iv. Meander scrolls : Depressions and rises on the convex sides of bends formed as channel migrates laterally down valley by the corrosion of the concave bend.

v. Sloughs : area of dead water formed both in the meander scroll depression and along the valley walls as flood flow more directly down valley scouring adjacent to the valley walls.

vi. Natural levees : Raised barns or crests above the floodplain surface adjacent to the channel, usually containing coarsest materials deposited as flood flow over the top of the channel banks. These are most frequently found at the concave bank and are submerged annually. They may be absent or imperceptible where most of silt load in transit is fine grained.

vii. Back swamp deposits : over bank deposits of finer sediment deposited in slack water ponded between the natural levees and the wall or terrace riser. These are submerged for long period of the year.

viii. Sand splays : deposits of flood debris usually coarse sand particles in the form of splays or scattered debris.