Abstract
The development of river channels and related fluvial landforms has probably been studied more than any other aspect of geomorphology in arid and semi-arid areas. This is due largely to the originality, forcefulness, and intellectual background of American geomorphologists developed during and sustained long after the exploration of the American West. The strong sense of field observation and experiment coupled with a deep historical perspective, both derived from a geological training, led to some of the most formative contributions to the subject. So much so perhaps that, despite the major endeavours by Europeans in denudation chronology, in climatic and glacial geomorphology, and later in hillslope and channel geomorphology, the conceptual basis of the subject at the end of the 20th century still bears a heavy imprint from the American source. In the Old World, only the Israelis, under A. Schick, have been able to maintain such a strong contribution to desert fluvial geomorphology.
Chapter PDF
References
Ashmore, P.E. 1982. Laboratory modelling of gravel braided stream channel morphology. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 7, 202–25.
Ashmore, P.E. 1987. Discussion of bedload transport in braided gravel-bed rivers. In Sediment transport in gravel bed streams, C.R. Thorne, J.C. Bathurst and R.D. Hey (eds) 811–20. Chichester: Wiley.
Bagnold, R.A. 1966. An approach to the sediment transport problem from general physic. S. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 422–1.
Bagnold, R.A. 1977. Bed load transport by natural rivers. Water Resources Research 13, 303–12.
Baker, V.R., R.C. Kochel and P.C. Patton 1979. Long term flood frequency analysis using geological data. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 128, 3–9.
Barsch, D. and C.F. Royse 1972. A model for the development of Quaternary terraces and piedmont-terraces in the southwestern United States. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 16, 54–75.
Beer, C.E. and H.P. Johnson 1965. Factors relating to gully growth in the deep loess area of Western Iowa. Proceedings of the Second Federal Inter-Agency Commission on Sedimentation. U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 970, 37–43.
Begin, Z.B. 1983. Application of ‘diffusion’ degradation to some aspects of drainage net development. In Badland geomorphology and piping, R. Bryan and A. Yair (eds), 169–81. Norwich: Geobooks.
Begin, Z.B. and S.A. Schumm 1979. Instability of alluvial floors: a method for its assessment. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 22, 347–50.
Begin, Z.B., D.F. Meyer and S.A. Schumm 1981. Development of longitudinal profiles of alluvial channels in response to base level lowering. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 6, 49–68.
Beschta, R.L. 1987. Conceptual models of sediment transport in streams. In Sediment transport in gravel bed streams, C.R. Thorne, J.C. Bathurst and R.D. Hey (eds) 387–420. Chichester: Wiley.
Bevan, K. and M.J. Kirkby 1979. A physically based, variable contributing area model of basin hydrology. Hydrological Sciences Bulletin 24, 43–69.
Boon, W. and J. Savat 1980. A nomogram for the prediction of rill erosion. In Soil conservation, R.P.C. Morgan (ed.), 303–18. Chichester: Wiley.
Bradford, J.M. and R.F. Piest 1977. Gully wall stability in loess derived alluvium. Soil Science Society of America Journal 41, 115–22.
Bradford, J.M., D.A. Farell and W.E. Larson 1973. Mathematical evaluation of factors affecting gully stability. Soil Science Society of America Proceedings 37, 103–7.
Bull, W.B. 1979. Water in deserts. In Water in desert ecosystems, D.D. Evans and J.L. Thames (eds), 1–22. Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson, and Ross.
Bull, W.B. 1990. Stream terrace genesis: implications for soil development. Geomorphology 3, 351–67.
Burkham, D.E. 1972. Channel changes of the Gila River in Safford Valley, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 655-J.
Burke, J.D., R.G. Brereton and P.M. Muller 1970. Desert stream channels resembling lunar sinuous rilI.S. Nature 225, 1234–6.
Campbell, C.J. and W. Green 1980. Perpetual succession of a stream-channel vegetation in a semi-arid region. Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science 5, 87–93.
Carling, P.A. 1987. Bed stability in gravel stream, with reference to stream regulation and ecology. In River channels: environment and process, K. Richards (ed.), 321–47. Oxford: Blackwell.
Carling, P.A. 1989. Bedload transport in two gravel-bedded streams. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 14, 27–41.
Cooke, R.U. and R.W. Reeves 1976. Arroyos and environmental change in the American South-west. Oxford: Clarendon.
Culling, W.E.H. 1960. Analytical theory of erosion. Journal of Geology 69, 336–44.
Davies, T.R.H. 1987. Bed load transport in braided gravel-bed rivers. In Sediment transport in gravel bed streams, C.R. Thorne, J.C Bathurst and R.D. Hey (eds), 793–811. Chichester: Wiley.
De Ploey, J. 1989. A model for headcut retreat in rills and gullies. Catena Supplement 14, 81–6.
Dietrich, W.E., C.J. Wilson and S.L. Reneau 1986. Hollows, colluvium, and landslides in soil-mantled landscapes. In Hillslope processes, A.D. Abrahams (ed.), 361–88. Boston: Allen and Unwin.
Dietrich, W.E., J.W. Kirchner, H. Ikeda and F. Iseya 1989. Sediment supply and the development of the coarse surface layer in gravel-bedded rivers. Nature 340, 215–17.
Dunne, T. 1980. Formation and control of channel networks. Progress in Physical Geography 4, 211–39.
Emmett, W.W. and L.B. Leopold 1965. Downstream pattern of river bed scour and fill. Proceedings of the Second Federal Interagency Conference on Sedimentation. U.S. Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 970, 399–409.
Ergenzinger, P. 1987. Chaos and order: the channel geometry of gravel-bed braided rivers. Catena Supplement 10, 85–98.
Fahnestock, R.K. 1963. Morphology and hydrology of a glacial stream. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 422-A.
Faulkner, H. 1974. An allometric growth model for competitive gullies. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Supplement Band 21, 76–87.
Finley, R.J. and T.C Gustavson 1983. Geomorphic effects of a 10-year storm on a small drainage basin in the Texas Panhandle. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 8, 63–79.
Fisher, G.S., M.L.J. Gray, N.B. Grimm and D.E. Busch 1982. Temporal succession in a desert stream ecosystem. Ecological Monographs 53, 93–110.
Foley, M.G. 1977. Gravel lens formation in antidune regime flow — a quantitative hydrodynamic indicator. Journal Sedimentary Petrology 47, 738–46.
Foley, M.G. 1978. Scour and fill in steep sand-bed ephemeral streams. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 89, 559–70.
Fournier, F. 1960. Climat et erosion. Paris: Presses Universitares Français.
Frostick, L.E. and I. Reid 1979. Drainage net control of sedimentary parameters in sand-bed ephemeral streams. In Geographical approaches to fluvial processes, A.F. Pitty (ed.), 173–201. Norwich: Geobooks.
Frostick, L.E., I. Reid and J.T. Layman 1983. Changing size-distribution of suspended sediment in arid-zone flash floods. International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication 6, 97–106.
Gardner, T.W. 1983. Experimental study of knickpoint behaviour and longitudinal profile evolution in cohesive, homogenous material. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 94, 664–72.
Gerits, J., A.C. Imeson, J.M. Verstraten and R.B. Bryan 1987. Rill development and badland regolith properties. Catena Supplement 8, 141–80.
Graf, W.L. 1979. The development of montane arroyos and gullies. Earth Surface Processes 4, 1–14.
Graf, W.L. 1983a. Flood related channel changes in an arid-region river. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 8, 125–41.
Graf, W.L. 1983b. Variability in sediment removal in a semi-arid watershed. Water Resources Research 19, 643–52.
Graf, W.L. 1987a. Fluvial processes in dryland rivers. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Graf, W.L. 1987b. Definition of floodplains along arid-region rivers. In Flood geomorphology, V.R. Baker, R.C. Kochel and P.C. Patton (eds), 234–49. New York: Wiley.
Griffiths, G.A. 1979. Recent sedimentation history of the Waimakiriri River, New Zealand. Journal of Hydrology (N.Z.) 18, 6–28.
Hack, J.T. 1957. Studies of the longitudinal stream profiles in Virginia and Maryland. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 294-B.
Harvey, A. 1982. The role of piping in the development of badlands and gully systems in south-east Spain. In Badland geomorphology and piping, R.B. Bryan and A. Yair (eds), 317–36. Norwich: Geobooks.
Hassan, M.A. 1990. Scour, fill and burial depth of coarse material in gravel bed streams. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 15, 341–56.
Heede, B.H. 1974. Stages of development of gullies in the Western United States of America. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 18, 260–71.
Higgins, C.G. 1984. Piping and sapping: development of land forms by groundwater outflow. In Groundwater as a geomorphic agent, R.G. LaFleur (ed.), 18–58. Boston: Allen and Unwin.
Holland, W.N. and G. Pickup 1976. Flume study of knickpoint development in stratified sediment. Geological Society of America Bulletin 87, 76–82.
Howard, A.D. 1971. Simulation of stream networks by headward growth and branching. Geographical Analysis 3, 59–68.
Howard, A.D. 1988a. Groundwater sapping on Mars and Earth. In Sapping features of the Colorado Plateau: a comparative planetary guide, A.D. Howard, R.C. Kochel and H.E. Holt (eds), 1–5. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA SP-491.
Howard, A.D. 1988b. Groundwater sapping experiments and modelling. In Sapping features of the Colorado Plateau: a comparative planetary guide, A.D. Howard, R.C. Kochel and H.E. Holt (eds), 71–83. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA SP-491.
Hubbell, D.W. and W.W. Sayre 1964. Sand transport studies with radioactive tracers. Journal Hydraulics Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers 90 (HY1) 39–68.
Ireland, H.A., C.F.C. Sharp and D.H. Eargle 1939. Principles of gully erosion in the Piedmont of South Carolina. U.S. Department of Agriculture Bulletin 63.
Kennedy, B.A. 1982. On Playfair’s Law of accordant junctions. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 9, 135–63.
Kirkby, M.J. 1980. The stream head as a significant geomorphological threshold. In Threshold in geomorphology, D.R. Coates and J.D. Vitek (eds), 57–73. Boston: Allen and Unwin.
Kirkby, M.J. 1993. Thresholds and instability in stream head hollows. In Channel network hydrology, K.J. Bevan and M.J. Kirkby (eds), 255–93. Wiley: Chichester.
Lane, E.W. 1937. Stable channels in erodible materiaI.S. Transactions American Society of Civil Engineers 102, 123–94.
Lane, L.J. 1982. Development of a procedure to estimate runoff and sediment transport in ephemeral streams. International Association of Hydrologie Sciences Publication 137, 275–82.
Langbein, W.B. 1965. Geometry of river channels: closure of discussion. Journal of Hydraulics Division, Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, 91 (HY3), 297–313.
Langbein, W.B. and L.B. Leopold 1968. River channels, bars and dunes — theory of kinematic waves. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 422-L.
Langbein, W.B. and S.A. Schumm 1958. Yields of sediment in relation to mean annual precipitation. Transactions of American Geophysical Union 39, 1076–84.
Laursen, E.M. 1953. Observations on the nature of scour. Iowa State University, Studies in Engineering Bulletin 34, 179–97.
Laursen, E.M. 1958. Total sediment load of stream. Journal Hydraulics Division, Proceedings of American Society of Civil Engineers 84 (HY1), 1531–6.
Lekach, J. and A.P. Schick 1983. Bedload transport in waves. Catena 10, 267–79.
Leopold, L.B. and J.P. Miller 1956. Ephemeral streams hydraulic factors and their relation to the drainage net. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 282-A.
Leopold, L.B. and M.G. Wolman 1957. River channel patterns: braided, meandering, and straight. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 282-B.
Leopold, L.B., M.G. Wolman and J.P. Miller 1964. Fluvial processes in geomorphology, San Francisco: Freeman.
Leopold, L.B., W.W. Emmett and R.M. Myrick 1966. Channel and hillslope processes in a semi-arid area, New Mexico. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 352-G.
Maizels, J.K. 1983. Palaeovelocity and palaeodischarge determination for coarse gravel deposits. In Background to palaeohydrology, K.J. Gregory (ed.) 101–39. New York: Wiley.
Marchington, A. 1987. Development of a dynamic model of gully growth. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, University of Bristol.
Marcus, W.A. 1987. Copper dispersion in ephemeral stream sediments. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 12, 217–29.
Mason, P.J. 1984. Erosion of plunge pools downstream of dams due to the action of free-trajectory jets. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Part 1, 76, 523–37.
Mitchell, J.K. and G.D. Bubenzer 1980. Soil loss estimation. In Soil erosion, M.J. Kirkby and R.P.C. Morgan (eds), 17–62. Chichester: Wiley.
Moore, R.J. 1984. A dynamic model of basin sediment yield. Water Resources Research 20, 89–105.
Morley, D. and J.B. Thornes 1972. Markov decision networks. Geographical Analysis 4, 180–93.
Mosley, M.P. 1972. Evolution of a discontinuous gully system. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 62, 655–63.
Mosley, M.P. 1976. An experimental study of channel confluences. Journal of Geology 84, 535–62.
Mosley, M.P. 1983. Response of braided rivers to changing discharge. Journal of Hydrology (N.Z.) 22, 18–64.
Nouh, M. 1990. The self-armouring process under unsteady flow conditions. Earth Surface Processes and Land-forms 15, 357–64.
Parker, G. 1976. On the cause and characteristic scales of meandering and braiding in rivers. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 76, 459–80.
Parker, R.S. 1977. Study of drainage basin evolution and its hydrological implications. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO.
Phillips, L. 1988. The effect of slope on experimental drainage patterns: possible application to Mars. In Sapping features of the Colorado Plateau: a comparative planetary guide, A.D. Howard, R.C. Kochel and H.E. Holt (eds), 107. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA SP-491.
Pickup, G., Higgins, R.J. and I. Grant 1983. Modelling sediment transport as a moving wave — the transfer and deposition of mining waste. Journal of Hydrology 60, 281–301.
Piest, R.F., J.M. Bradford and R.G. Spomer 1975. Mechanisms of erosion and sediment movement from gullies. In Present and prospective technology for predicting sediment yields and sources, Agricultural Research Service Report ARS-S-40, 162–76. Oxford, MS: U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Reid, I. and Frostick, L. 1984. Flash flood hydraulics and sediments in the arid zone of northern Kenya. Universita Firenze, Departimento di ingegneria civile, Sezione gelogia applicata 3/84.
Reid, I., Frostick, L.E. and J.T. Layman 1985. The incidence and nature of bedload transport during flood flows in coarse-drained alluvial channeI.S. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 10, 33–44.
Savat, J. 1977. The hydraulics of sheet flow on a smooth surface and the effects of simulated rainfall. Earth Surface Processes 2, 125–40.
Savat, J. and J. De Ploey 1982. Sheetwash and rill development by surface flow. In Badland geomorphology and piping, R.B. Bryan and A. Yair (eds), 113–26. Norwich: Geobooks.
Schick, A. 1977. Study of sediment generation, transport and deposition in semi-arid zones. Hydrological Sciences Bulletin 4, 535–42.
Schick, A., M.A. Hassan and J. Lekach 1987. A vertical exchange model for coarse bedload movement: numerical considerations. Catena Supplement 10, 73–83.
Schumm, S.A. 1956. Evolution of drainage systems and slopes at Perth Amboy, New Jersey. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 67, 597–646.
Schumm, S.A. 1973. Geomorphic thresholds and complex response. In Fluvial geomorphology, M. Morisawa (ed.), 299–310. Binghamton, NY: Publications in Geomorphology.
Schumm, S.A. 1977. The fluvial system. New York: Wiley-Interscience.
Schumm, S.A. 1979. Geomorphic thresholds: the concept and its applications. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 4, 485–515.
Schumm, S.A. and R.W. Lichty 1963. Channel widening and flood plain construction along the Cimarron River in southwestern Kansas. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 352-D.
Schumm, S.A., P.M. Mosley and W.E. Weaver 1987. Experimental fluvial geomorphology. New York: Wiley.
Scott, K.M. 1973. Scour and fill in Tujunga Wash: a fan head valley in urban southern California. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 750-B, B1-B28.
Seginer, I. 1966. Gully development and sediment yield. Journal of Hydrology 4, 236–53.
Shields, A. 1936. Andwendung der Ahnlichkeitsmechanik und der Turbulenzforschung auf die Geschiebebewegung. Mitteilungen der Preussischen Versuchsanstalt für Wasserbau und Schiffbau, Heft 26, Berlin. English translation by W.P. Ott and J.C. van Uchelen, California Institute of Technology, Hydrodynamics Laboratory Publication 167.
Smith, T.R. and F.P. Bretherton 1972. Stability and the conservation of mass in drainage basin evolution. Water Resources Research 8, 1506–29.
Stark, C.P. 1991. An invasion percolation model of drainage network evolution. Nature 352, 423–5.
Sutherland, A.J. and E.B. Williman 1977. Development of armoured surfaces in alluvial channeI.S. Proceedings 6th Australasian Hydraulics and Fluid Mechanics Conference, Adelaide, 5–9 December 1977, 126–30.
Thornes, C. 1991. Ephemeral stream confluences in a semi-arid environment: an experimental and stream study. Unpublished Dissertation, Hertford College, University of Oxford.
Thornes, J.B. 1970. The hydraulic geometry of stream channels in the Xingu-Araguaia headwaters. Geographical Journal 136, 87–96.
Thornes, J.B. 1974. Semi-arid erosional systems. London School of Economics Geographical Paper7.
Thornes, J.B. 1977. Channel changes in ephemeral streams: observations, problems and modeI.S. In River channel changes, K.J. Gregory (ed.), 318–35. Chichester: Wiley.
Thornes, J.B. 1979. Fluvial processes. In Process in geomorphology, C.E. Embleton and J.B. Thornes, 213–71. London: Allen and Unwin.
Thornes, J.B. 1980. Structural instability and ephemeral channel behaviour. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie Supplement Band 36, 233–44.
Thornes, J.B. 1984. Gully growth and bifurcation. In Erosional control — man and nature, Proceedings of the XV Conference of the International Erosion Control Association, Denver, 131–40.
Thornes, J.B. 1988. Erosional equilibria under grazing. In Conceptual issues in environmental archaeology. J. Bint-liff, D.A. Davidson and E.G. Grant (eds), 193–211. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Thornes, J.B. and A. Gilman 1983. Potential and actual erosion around archaeological sites in south-east Spain. Catena Supplement 41, 91–114.
Thornes, J.B. and K.J. Gregory 1991. Unfinished business: a continuing agenda. In Temperate zone palaeohydrology, L. Starkel, K.J. Gregory and J.B. Thornes (eds), 430–8. Chichester: Wiley.
Tuan, Y.F. 1962. Structure, climate and basin landforms in Arizona and New Mexico. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 52, 51–68.
Van der Poel, P. and G.O. Schwab 1988. Plunge pool erosion in cohesive channels below a free overfall. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 31, 1148–53.
Van Sickle, J. and R.L. Beschta 1983. Supply-based models of suspended sediment transport in streams. Water Resources Research 19, 768–78.
Veness, J.A. 1980. The role of fluting in gully extension. Journal of Soil Conservation New South Wales 36, 100–7.
Vita-Finzi, C. 1969. The Mediterranean valleys, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Willgoose, G.R., R.L. Bras and I. Rodriguez-Iturbe 1990. A coupled channel network growth and hillslope evolution model. 1. Theory. Water Resources Research 27, 1671–84.
Wolman, M.G. and R. Gerson 1978. Relative scales of time and effectiveness of climate in watershed geomorphology. Earth Surface Processes 3, 189–208.
Yair, A. and Y. Enzel 1987. The relationship between annual rainfall and sediment yield in arid and semi-arid areas. The case of the northern Negev. Catena Supplement 10, 121–35.
Yalin, M.S. 1977. The mechanics of sediment transport, 2nd edn. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Zimmerman, R.C., J.C. Goodlett and G.H. Cromer 1967. The influence of vegetation on channel form of small streams. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 75, 255–75.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1994 Athol D. Abrahams and Anthony J. Parsons
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Thornes, J.B. (1994). Channel Processes, Evolution, and History. In: Abrahams, A.D., Parsons, A.J. (eds) Geomorphology of Desert Environments. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8254-4_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8254-4_12
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-015-8256-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-015-8254-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive