• Braided Rivers (Watrix I) 



• Split Channel River (Matrix 2) 



• Meandering, Sinuous, and Straight Rivers (Matrix 5) 



Braided Rivers . A braided river typically contains two or more inter- 

 connecting channels separated by unvegetated gravel bars or vegetated islands 

 (Figure 9a). Its floodplain is typically wide and sparsely vegetated, and 

 contains numerous high-water channels. Bars separating the channels are 

 usually low, gravel surfaced, and easily eroded. 



Split Channel Rivers . A split channel river has numerous stable islands 

 which divide the flow into two channels (Figure 9b). There are usually no 

 more than two channels at a given reach and other reaches are single channel. 

 The banl<s of the channel (s) are typically vegetated and stable. The split 

 river floodplain is typically narrow relative to the channel width. 



Meandering, Sinuous, and Straight Rivers . Meandering and sinuous rivers 

 (Figures 9c and 9d) have a single channel that winds back and forth within 

 the floodplain; straight rivers wind less. Very few islands are found in 

 these systems. Point bars and lateral bars are common, with point bars more 

 frequent in meandering rivers and lateral bars in straight rivers. Banks on 

 the outside of a bend in a meandering river are normally unstable whereas the 

 banks of a straight river are relatively stable. The floodplains of mean- 

 dering and sinuous rivers are usually as wide as the meander belt, and there- 

 fore, are narrower for sinuous rivers than for meandering rivers. Floodplains 

 of straight rivers are narrow. 



Template Preparation 



Required Data . After the proper matrix has been identified, the template 

 describing the work plan can be prepared. A template can either be prepared 

 by: (I) using the blank template provided in the back of this manual, or (2) 

 aligning a blank sheet of paper under the parameter descriptions of one of the 



^' VI . SITE OPERATION 



