3 Stages of river development
A river develops its long profile by head ward erosion while its cross profile is developed by lateral and vertical erosion. A river valley develops in three stages namely; The youthful stage (young / upper course) The mature stage or middle stage The old stage / lower course The youthful stage This normally takes place in the upper section of the long profile of a river valley. It displays the following characteristics; The river has a narrow v-shaped valley. In this case, the river covers the whole floor of the valley. The valley is made deep by vertical erosion. The river has a steep gradient. It flows at a very fast due to the steep gradient. The river forms waterfalls and rapids It has a small channel and many short tributaries. Its characterized by landforms such as inter locking spurs, waterfalls, rapids, plunge pools, v-shaped valleys, etc. e.g. at river Nyamwamba on the slopes of mt. Rwenzori. The middle stage In the middle stage, a river develops mature features and th...