Braided river

The Waimakariri River in the South Island of New Zealand is a braided river.

A braided river is a network of small channels separated by islands that are often not fixed. They can be found in places where the river carries a lot of sediment, or when it quickly slows down and spreads out, like in a river delta.

Locations

Large braided river systems are found in only a few places around the world:

• Alaska
• Canada
• New Zealand's South Island
• the Himalayas

All these regions contain young mountains that face quick erosion.

Europe contains two braided rivers: the Narew, in Poland and Belarus, and the Tagliamento in northeastern Italy.