River Terraces

A river terrace is an eroded floodplain generally separated from the new floodplain by a steep-slope River terraces is formed when vertical erosion occurs in a floodplain that was previously being formed by the normal conditions of deposition and lateral erosion. The river then cuts downwards and abandons the old flood plain as a river terrace When this occurs on a floodplain,the river starts to erode down to a new level which creating a terrace. River terraces are found in the lower course of the valley and are commonly used for settlement because they are safe from flooding

The new flood plain which has been created if formed as a result of changes in gradient, sediment load, climate change or human activity. If there is an increase in the amount of water that flows through the river bed(deposit), the river starts eroding vertically again leaving the old floodplain higher up as a terrace. The older the terraces the higher it is and the younger terrace the lower it is. Example: London which is built on a terrace of the River Thames