Backswamp

Article summary

In geology, a backswamp is a type of depositional environment commonly found in a floodplain. It is where deposits of fine silts and clays settle after a flood. These deposits create a marsh-like landscape that is often poorly drained and usually lower than the rest of the floodplain. Levees form as a result of the flooding process. Large amounts of rainfall cause the river to become too full during the flooding, where it overflows, carrying sediments into the floodplain. As the flooding slows and stops, the sediments are deposited, with the largest deposited closer to the river channel and the smaller ones deposited further away. These deposits result from the larger sediments losing energy faster than their smaller counterparts, which results in the creation of levees which are natural embankments that are close to the channel and help keep the river from flooding in the future. When another flooding event occurs, the water level rises over the levees and floods the floodplains. As the flooding event stops, the water and all of the sediments it carried cannot drain out back into the river's main channel due to the levees, a backswamp forms. [[File:Meandering_river.pdf|thumb|A meandering river in a floodplain with labels for major characteristics. [1] The direction of the water flow.…

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