Friction with the river bed and banks can reduce the velocity of the river leading to deposition. 

Find out more about river deposition.

Formation of a waterfall

Find out more about the landforms of erosion in the upper course of a river.

Suspension

Find out more about river transportation.

In the upper course, the channel is very narrow and very shallow. By the middle course, the channel becomes wider and deeper usually over 1 m. By the lower course, the channel becomes wider still and the channel is much deeper.

Find out more about the cross profile of a river.

Examples include:

• benefits wildlife by creating habitats
• it’s a natural method of intercepting precipitation and slowing water transfer in a river basin
• absorbs and stores carbon reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• relatively inexpensive.

Find out more about soft engineering.