Mature Land <FULL>
The concept is most famously defined in the , where landforms evolve from "youth" to "maturity" and finally "old age". Key Characteristics of Mature Land
: Vertical erosion (downcutting) slows down while lateral (sideways) erosion becomes dominant, causing narrow V-shaped valleys to broaden into U-shaped ones. mature land
: Rivers develop winding, "S" shaped curves (meanders) and may leave behind crescent-shaped bodies of water known as oxbow lakes. The concept is most famously defined in the
: Large, flat floodplains begin to form as rivers lose velocity and start to meander. : Large, flat floodplains begin to form as
: The difference in height between the highest peaks (water divides) and the valley bottoms is at its greatest.
The term "mature" is also used in other fields to describe land-based systems:
In geomorphology, a landscape is considered mature when it reaches its highest level of dissection by streams:
