Abstract
Why does a sheet of water flowing over an initially featureless surface spontaneously form a river network? To address this question, we construct a simple model which enables us to examine the shape and stability of individual river channels. We compare predictions for the geometry of fluvial channels with experimental data. In addition, we construct a lattice model which allows us to look at large-scale features of river networks and calculate their scaling relations.
- Received 22 October 1991
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.205
©1992 American Physical Society
