A floodplain, or flood plain, is flat or nearly flat land adjacent to a stream or river that experiences occasional flooding.

It includes the floodway, which consists of the stream channel and adjacent areas that carry flood flows, and the flood fringe, which are areas covered by the flood, but which do not experience a strong current.

Floodplains are formed in two ways: by erosion; and by aggradation.

An erosional floodplain is created as a stream cuts deeper into its channel and laterally into its banks.

A stream with a steep gradient will tend to downcut faster than it causes lateral erosion, resulting in a deep, narrow channel with little or no floodplain at all.

For more information about the topic Floodplain, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:

Levee — A levee, floodbank or stopbank is a natural or artificial embankment or dike, usually earthen, which parallels the course of a river. The main ...  > read more

Sediment — Sediment is any particulate matter that can be transported by fluid flow and which eventually is deposited as a layer of solid particles on the bed ...  > read more

Flood — A flood is an overflow of water, an expanse of water submerging land, a deluge. Since prehistoric times people have lived by the seas and rivers for ...  > read more

Erosion — Erosion is the displacement of solids (soil, mud, rock and other particles) by the agents of wind, water or ice, by downward or down-slope movement ...  > read more

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