river beds
Where currents flow
River beds are the ground surfaces at the bottom of rivers—the channels carved by flowing water.
The term applies whether water is present or not: a dry river bed shows where water once flowed or flows seasonally.
We walked along the exposed river bed during the drought.
Also spelled as one word: riverbeds.
- pebblesSmall water-smoothed stones
- sandbarsSubmerged ridges of sediment
- siltWaterborne earth particles
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
- sand barsUnderwater sediment ridges
streambed · channel · sediment · alluvium · scouring · erosion control · floodplain · deposition · bedrock · oxbow lake · armoring · riffles · benthic · creek · pools · wading pools · channel migration · fish habitats
river channel geography
river bedsriver banks
Sides of waterways
riverbanks · banks · levees · embankments · shorelines
water presence
river bedsfloodplains
Low areas rivers inundate
arroyos · dry land · wadis · uplands · ephemeral streams