In the lower course the river is now close to the mouth, it can’t erode down into the land anymore and now it starts to deposit some of the load that was eroded from high above and that the river has been carrying. The rocks deposited here are smaller and smoother than those in the earlier parts of the river's course. We can also look at rivers in cross section - the cross profile. From those high energy locations high in the mountains, through to the lower valleys, where all that energy is used to shape the geology around us.
In the lower course the river is now close to the mouth, it can’t erode down into the land anymore and now it starts to deposit some of the load that was eroded from high above and that the river has been carrying. The rocks deposited here are smaller and smoother than those in the earlier parts of the river's course.
We can also look at rivers in cross section - the cross profile. From those high energy locations high in the mountains, through to the lower valleys, where all that energy is used to shape the geology around us.
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