Definition
A relatively flat, largely horizontally-bedded alluvial landform adjacent to a river channel, separated from the channel by banks which may be levéed, normally underlain by unconsolidated sediment. Terrestrial active floodplains of perennial rivers are subjected to regular flooding, usually annually (Ritter et al. 2002). Floodplains develop in many alluvial valleys, on alluvial fans and deltas. The lowland where floodplains occur is called a floodbasin (Bridge and Demicco 2012, p. 430).
Description
The surface of a floodplain is classically flat or slightly convex if channels are accompanied by levées. However at the outer margins, towards bounding hills, colluvium may elevate the level slightly. The floodplain surface can also include linear and sinuous hollows that indicate former river course (abandoned channels, palaeomeanders; oxbow lakes) as well...
References
Allen JRL (1965) A review of the origin and characteristics of recent alluvial sediments. Sedimentology 5:89–191
Allen JRL (1970) Physical processes of sedimentation. George Allen & Unwin, London
Bridge JS (2003) Rivers and floodplains. Blackwell, Oxford, p 491
Bridge JS, Demicco R (2012) Rivers, alluvial plains and fans. In: Earth surface processes, landforms and sediment deposits. Cambridge University Press, New York, pp 365–461
Carr MH, Head JW (2010) Geologic history of Mars. Earth Planet Sci Lett 294(3–4):185–203
Charlton R (2008) Fundamentals of fluvial geomorphology. Routledge, p 234
Howard AD (2009) How to make a meandering river. PNAS 106(41):17245–17246
Jaumann R, Kirk RL, Lorenz RD, Lopes RMC, Stofan E, Turtle EP, Keller HU, Wood CA, Sotin C, Soderblom LA, Tomasko MG (2009) Geology and surface processes on Titan. In: Brown RH et al (eds) Titan from Cassini-Huygens. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 75–140
Kite ES, Williams RME, Finnegan NJ, Karlstrom L, Manga M (n.d.) The longest meandering floodplain on Mars: the Aeolis meanders. http://gps.caltech.edu/~kite/Aeolis_Meanders_Future_Landing_Site.pdf
Leopold LB, Wolman MG, Miller JP (1964) Fluvial processes in geomorphology. Freeman, San Fransisco
Plescia JB (1990) Recent flood lavas in the Elysium region of Mars. Icarus 88:465–490
Ritter DF, Kochel RC, Miller JR (eds) (2002) Process geomorphology. McGraw-Hill, Boston
Scott DH, Tanaka KL (1986) Geological map of the Western Equatorial Region of Mars (1:15,000,000). USGS
Tomasko MG et al. (2005) Rain, winds and haze during the Huygens probe’s descent to Titan’s surface, Nature 438:765–778
Ivanov MA, Head JW (2001) Chryse Planitia, Mars: Topographic configuration, outflow channel continuity and sequence, and tests for hypothesized ancient bodies of water using Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. Journal of Geophysical Research 106(E2):375–3295
Wolman MG, Leopold LB (1957) River flood plains: some observations on their formation. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 282-C:87–107
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this entry
Cite this entry
Carling, P.A., Hargitai, H. (2014). Floodplain. In: Encyclopedia of Planetary Landforms. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_152-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-9213-9_152-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-9213-9
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences