How to Tell if You're in a Riverbed

If you go adventuring in arid terrain, it’s important to know when you’re hiking in a dry riverbed, in case of rainstorms and flash flooding. Here are the main signs that you’re in a riverbed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Look for a linear or curving V-shaped or U-shaped landscape depression. Any feature like this can be a dry riverbed.

2. Look for little or no vegetation, or flattened vegetation in a depression feature. A recent flood could have removed or disturbed plant growth in the river channel.

3. Look for rounded boulders, gravel and cobbles. Gravel or cobbles stacked up on each other at similar angles are a sure sign that fast-flowing water was in the area.

4. Observe the sides of a depression and look for cut-bank features. Small steep slopes with layered sand and gravel are a sign of stream erosion.

5. Check for debris in tree branches at a common elevation marking a previous flood level. Debris could include dead leaves and branches, grass clumps or plastic waste.

Tips & Warnings

• On topographic maps valleys and dry riverbeds appear as V-shaped contours, with the V's pointing upstream. Intermittent streams are marked on topo maps with dashed lines.
• If you experience a heavy rainstorm in arid terrain, don’t hang around to try to figure out if you’re in a dry streambed. Just head immediately for the highest elevation you can get to.