The longitudinal profile is the change in gradient over the length of stream and is typically concave up. Streams are graded to base level, which is where stream flow and bed erosion ceases. Types of streams 1. So don't build your house on the outer edge of a meander. Ephemeral and Perennial streams- ephemeral, like the streams around New Mexico, only have flow for a small portion of the year, they are almost always braided streams due to the rapid changes in discharge.
People forget about ephemeral streams, which can be dangerous.
Perennial, have flow year round, dominant in more humid regions. A stream flows inside a stream valley created by erosion by the stream. The sides of a stream valley are termed the valley walls, valley margins, or bluffs. The surface of the valley is called the valley floor . The flood waters will cover the floodplain , the area of the valley floor that is flooded, sometimes including the entire stream valley floor if the flood is large.