Types of river erosion

According to the ways of action, river erosion can be divided into: washout (hydraulic washout), abrasion (evorsion) and dissolution.

According to the direction of action, river erosion can be divided into two types: down-cutting erosion and lateral erosion.

Down-cutting erosion is erosion where the water flow is downwardly perpendicular to the ground, and its effect is to deepen riverbed or gully bed.

Lateral erosion is a phenomenon where the river erodes laterally. Its effect is to make the river banks retreat, the valley widen or to form meanders.