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Stream gradient is the ratio of drop in a stream
Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
 per unit distance, usually expressed as feet per mile
Mile

A mile is a Units of measurement of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems. In contemporary English contexts, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 5,280 Feet or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters ....
 or meters per kilometer. A high gradient indicates a steep slope and rapid flow
Volumetric flow rate

The volumetric flow rate in fluid dynamics and hydrometry, is the volume of fluid which passes through a given surface per unit time Volumetric flow rate should not be confused with volumetric flux, as defined by Darcy's law and represented by the symbol q, with units of m3/, that is, m s-1....
 of water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 (ie. more ability to erode); whereas a low gradient indicates a more nearly level stream bed
Stream bed

A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks....
 and sluggishly moving water, that may be able to carry only small amounts of very fine sediment
Sediment

Sediment is any particulate matter that can be sediment transport by fluid dynamics, and which eventually is deposited.Sediments are most often transported by water transported by wind and glaciers....
. High gradient streams tend to have steep, narrow V-shaped valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
s, and are referred to as young streams. Low gradient streams have wider and less rugged valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
s, with a tendency for the stream to meander
Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuosity watercourse, also known as an oxbow loop, or simply an oxbow. A meander is formed when the moving water in a river erodes the outer banks and widens its valley creating a meander....
.

A stream that flows upon a uniformly erodible
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 substrate will tend to have a steep gradient near its source, and a low gradient nearing zero as it reaches its base level
Base level

The base level of a river or stream is the lowest point to which it can flow, often referred to as the 'mouth' of the river. For large rivers, sea level is usually the base level, but a large river or lake is likewise the base level for tributary streams....
.






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Stream gradient is the ratio of drop in a stream
Stream

A stream is a body of water less than 60 feet wide with a current , confined within a stream bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as brook, beck, Burn , creek, crick, kill, lick , rill, river syke, bayou, rivu...
 per unit distance, usually expressed as feet per mile
Mile

A mile is a Units of measurement of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems. In contemporary English contexts, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 5,280 Feet or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters ....
 or meters per kilometer. A high gradient indicates a steep slope and rapid flow
Volumetric flow rate

The volumetric flow rate in fluid dynamics and hydrometry, is the volume of fluid which passes through a given surface per unit time Volumetric flow rate should not be confused with volumetric flux, as defined by Darcy's law and represented by the symbol q, with units of m3/, that is, m s-1....
 of water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 (ie. more ability to erode); whereas a low gradient indicates a more nearly level stream bed
Stream bed

A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks....
 and sluggishly moving water, that may be able to carry only small amounts of very fine sediment
Sediment

Sediment is any particulate matter that can be sediment transport by fluid dynamics, and which eventually is deposited.Sediments are most often transported by water transported by wind and glaciers....
. High gradient streams tend to have steep, narrow V-shaped valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
s, and are referred to as young streams. Low gradient streams have wider and less rugged valley
Valley

In geology, a valley is a Depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge....
s, with a tendency for the stream to meander
Meander

A meander in general is a bend in a sinuosity watercourse, also known as an oxbow loop, or simply an oxbow. A meander is formed when the moving water in a river erodes the outer banks and widens its valley creating a meander....
.

A stream that flows upon a uniformly erodible
Erosion

For morphological image processing operations, see Erosion 'For use of in dermatopathology, see Erosion Erosion is the removal of solids in the natural environment....
 substrate will tend to have a steep gradient near its source, and a low gradient nearing zero as it reaches its base level
Base level

The base level of a river or stream is the lowest point to which it can flow, often referred to as the 'mouth' of the river. For large rivers, sea level is usually the base level, but a large river or lake is likewise the base level for tributary streams....
. Of course, a uniform substrate would be rare in nature; hard layers of rock
Rock (geology)

In geology, rock is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock....
 along the way may establish a temporary base level, followed by a high gradient, or even a waterfall
Waterfall

A waterfall is usually a geology geologic formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a nickpoint, or sudden break in elevation....
, as softer materials are encountered below the hard layer. Human dam
Dam

A dam is a barrier that Reservoirs surface water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates, levees, and Dike are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions....
s, glaciation, changes in sea level
Sea level

Mean sea level is the average height of the sea, with reference to a suitable reference surface. Defining the reference level , however, involves complex measurement, and accurately determining MSL can prove difficult....
 and many other factors can also change the "normal" gradient pattern.

On topographic map
Topographic map

A topographic map is a type of map characterized by large-scale detail and quantitative representation of terrain, usually using contour lines in modern mapping, but historically using a cartographic relief depiction....
s, stream gradient can be easily approximated if the scale of the map and the contour intervals are known. Contour lines form a V-shape on the map, pointing upstream. By counting the number of lines that cross a certain segment of a stream, multiplying this by the contour interval, and dividing that quantity by the length of the stream segment you can determine the stream gradient. Because stream gradient is customarily given in feet per 1000 feet you should measure the amount a stream segment rises and the length of the stream segment in feet, then multiply feet per foot gradient by 1000. For example, if one measures a scale mile along the stream length, and counts three contour lines crossed on a map with ten-foot contours, the gradient is approximately 5.7 feet per 1000 feet, a fairly steep gradient.

See also

  • Cascade
    Cascade

    A cascade is a type of waterfall or a series of waterfalls.Cascade may also refer to:...
  • Relief ratio
    Relief ratio

    The relief ratio is a number calculated to describe the slope of a river or stream. The calculation is just the difference in elevation between the river's source and the river's confluence or river delta divided by the total length of the river or stream....
  • Rapid
    Rapid

    File:Rapids.jpgFile:!downstream river1.jpgA rapid is a section of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient causing an increase in water [velocity and turbulence....