Mature stage
Topic: Landforms and their Evolution: Rivers, Groundwater, Glaciers, Waves and Wind · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Landforms and their Evolution"
Meaning
The mature stage is the middle stage of a river landscape in Davis's cycle of erosion. There are now many streams, and they are well linked. The V-shaped valleys are deep, and the divides between valleys are sharp. Lateral (sideways) erosion becomes important, so the floodplains grow wider and the river starts to meander, or form loops. Waterfalls and rapids have disappeared by this stage.
Example
After the Ganga leaves the Himalaya at Haridwar in Uttarakhand, its valley becomes wider and its channel begins to wind across a growing floodplain. These are features of the mature stage.
Don't confuse with
- Youth stage: there are few, poorly linked streams, and waterfalls and rapids are still present. Downcutting dominates.
- Old stage: there are few tributaries, and rivers loop freely over vast floodplains close to sea level.
Related concepts
- Landform
- Cycle of erosion
- Youth stage
- Old stage
- Peneplain
- Monadnock
- Sheet erosion
- Lateral and vertical erosion