Waterhole form and process in the anastomosing channel system of Cooper Creek, Australia

One of the most distinctive features of Cooper Creekʹs anastomosing channel system is the preponderance of waterholes, enlarged segments of channel ranging in length from 100 m to over 20 km. Enlargement occurs in both the width and depth dimensions to give bankfull cross-sectional areas four to eight times the average size of individual anastomosing channels. The anastomosing system is cut into a floodplain of subtle relief but depths of incision can be highly variable, giving rise to changes in the degree of anastomosis as different sets of channels are activated during the filling stage of a flood. Also, cross-sectional form and bed topography can vary markedly over short channel distances, which has implications for local flow conditions and erosive potential. Hydraulic geometry analyses suggest that cross-sectional area adjusts much more readily than velocity to increasing discharge in waterholes, particularly if there is limited lateral confinement. Consequently, velocities tend to be rather modest across a wide spectrum of flows, with average values rarely reaching 1 m s−1. Nevertheless, observations made during a 1:20-year flood reveal a deeply penetrative band of relatively high velocity in one waterhole, suggesting that localized values of bed shear could be quite large even when sectional averages are moderate. Waterholes appear to be a product of the present regime, since they concentrate flow from both feeder channels and the floodplain during flood discharges. In several respects they resemble chains-of-ponds morphology [Eyles, R.J., 1977. Birchams Creek: the transition from a chain of ponds to a gully. Aust. Geogr. Stud. 15, 146–157.], and could represent the discontinuous sections of a present-day channel, which cannot be maintained in that form over its entire length. That the one waterhole to accommodate the entire cross-valley flow at bankfull stage (Meringhina Waterhole) has cross-sectional dimensions similar to those predicted by appropriate regime equations lends support to this argument. Essentially, waterholes are self-maintaining scour features, which play a significant hydrological and geomorphological role in the Cooper Creek anastomosing system. They provide long-term water storage in an arid environment, and their fixed position helps to maintain the stability of the multi-channel pattern.