Misfit Streams
Problems in Interpretation, Discharge, and Distribution
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4490479 |
|---|---|
| Authors | G H Dury (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1960 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 219 |
| Publication date | 1960-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Geographical Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-7428 • E-ISSN: 1931-0846 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/211509 |
| OpenAlex | W2331094117 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
A MISFIT stream is a stream that is either too small or too large for its valley.' The fact that misfit streams are regionally distributed seems wholly opposed to the widely held view that they are usually due to capture. Field work provides consistent evidence that they have been affected by a reduction of discharge; for all those so far investigated are underlain by large alluvium-filled channels that meander round valley bends. The reduction of discharge required to make a stream misfit, as calculated from width/discharge and width/wavelength relationships established by hydrologisis, is such as to exclude the possibility that valley meanders can be eroded in present conditions. Analyses of the discharge/area relationship on the Nene and the Great Ouse, and field studies of meanders in very small catchments, provide particular evidence in support of the general conclusion. It is inferred that the large channels were filled with water, and the valley meanders eroded, by runoff supplied in climatic conditions different from those of the present day. Although distributional studies are handicapped by lack of detailed information, misfit streams are known to be widely distributed in certain parts of the world, and the wavelength/area ratio for valley meanders is found to be consistently of a single order. This fact is
Computer network · Distribution (mathematics · Geography · Interpretation (philosophy · STREAMS · Computer Science · Environmental Science · Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes · Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies · Mathematics · Soil erosion and sediment transport
| Citations per year | 0.07 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1966 - 1997 (32) |
| Highly cited | No |