Pool and Riffle

pool and riffle, deep and shallow portions of an undulating stream bed. Pools are most easily seen in a meandering stream where the outer edge of each meander loop is deep and undercut; riffles form in the shallow water of the short, straight, wide reaches between adjacent loops. The pools and riffles form sequences spaced at a repeating distance of about five to seven widths of the channel and often appear in stream development long before the stream produces visible meanders. These patterns are thought to be associated with a form of wave phenomenon and may be initiated by a single gravel patch in a channel; the first channel deviation requires an overcompensation of counter-deviation and sets off a chain reaction type of development. Pools and riffles are present in nearly all perennial channels where the size of the bed material is greater than coarse sand, and they are relatively stable in their position along the channel. At low water stages, the pools generally have a smooth surface while the riffles may show white water. Rapids, similar formations that show white water at all stages of flow, are common in bedrock channels, are generally composed of boulders, and are more random in distribution along the channel.