Upper course
The characteristics of a river and its valley found in this course include vertical erosion, lakes, waterfalls, potholes, rapids and gorges. Overland flow is found in depressions making lakes. Eventually, the channel gets deeper and waterfalls become rapids.
Middle course
Characteristics include, lateral erosion, transportation, floodplain, meanders, truncated spurs, and river cliffs. The gradient of the river is increasingly even and smooth, and the flood plain begins to develop.
Lower course
Here, transportation and deposition are found. The channel is large and features such as Deltas, levees, bluffs and meanders are found. The flood plain increases in size as meanders migrate downstream.