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bLIL I IUIV I - S I HEAIVI UUKKIUUKS <br />What Shapes a Stream Corridor? <br />As streams move through watersheds, their appearance, shape, and energy <br />change as local conditions change. A stream may begin as a rush of water over <br />rocks on a steep slope. Further down in the watershed, it may empty onto a <br />wide, flat valley where soft soils erode easily. The stream will migrate across <br />the valley while maintaining its channel shape, gradient, and sinuosity. <br />Forming Meanders <br />Shifts of energy in a stream will also shift the sediment. When the energy core is against the <br />outside bank (see At the Bend, next page), it erodes sediment and deposits the material <br />downstream on the inside bend as a point bar. This natural process forms meanders in streams <br />with low gradient. <br />Low energy water <br />deposits sediment <br />point bar <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />16 <br />point bar <br />pool