• Levées are naturally raised riverbanks found on either or both sides of a river channel in its

lower course that is prone to flooding.

• It is formed by flooding over many years. A ridge of sediment is deposited naturally to build
up the levee.
• Characteristics: Raised riverbanks (about 2-8-metres high in the UK); composed of gravel,
stones and alluvium; grading of sediments with the coarsest closest to the river channel; steep-
sided, but steeper on the channel side than on the land side and a fairly flat top, naturally
covered by grass often used as a footpath, e.g. the Severn Way.
• When a river bursts its banks, friction with the land reduces velocity and causes deposition.
The size of sediment then becomes progressively smaller with increased distance from the
river. When flooding occurs, water flows over the sides of the channel and with each successive
flood, the banks are built up higher. Over time, the bed of the river develops a thicker layer of
sediment, which raises the river in its channel.
• A floodplain is a wide, flat area of marshy land on either side of a river and found in
the middle and lower courses.
• The width of the flood plain is due to meander migration, where the outside bends
erode laterally into the edges of the valley.
• Floodplains are made of alluvium, a sediment (silt) deposited by a river when it floods.
Floodplains are used for farming as the soils are very fertile.
• There are two processes responsible for the formation of a floodplain
- Meanders migrate across the floodplain due to lateral erosion. When they reach the
edge of the floodplain, they erode the valley side (bluff). This explains why floodplains
are very wide.
- When the river floods it deposits silt, creating a very flat floodplain. Layer upon layer
builds up over many years to form a thick deposit of fertile alluvium.

• In the UK most river mouths form wide tidal estuaries, especially in areas where sea
levels have risen. • Estuaries are transitional zones between river and coastal
environments and are affected by wave action as well as river processes.
• The main process operating in estuaries is deposition.

• An estuary is influenced by both fluvial and marine processes. The river is flowing from
east to west. The salinity (saltiness) increases towards the sea. There are two sources of
sediment (from the river and from the sea). The estuary is tidal, so fluvial and marine
processes operate.
• During a rising tide river water is unable to be discharged into the sea. The river's
velocity falls and sediment is deposited. At low tide these fine deposits form extensive
mudflats. Over time, mudflats develop into important natural habitats called
saltmarshes.

• Mudflats form in sheltered areas where tidal water flows slowly.

• As a river transports alluvium down to the sea, an incoming tide transports sand and
marine silt up the estuary.
• The figure shows that just downstream of the tidal limit, fresh river water begins to
mix with salty sea water.
• Where the waters meet, velocity is reduced, which causes deposition.
• This builds up layers of mud called mud flats.
• They will be covered at high tide but exposed at low tide.
• Within the mud flats there are many small streams (creeks).
• After a while, the mudflats may become colonised by salt-marsh vegetation such as
cordgrass.