RIVER CLASSIFICATION FOR MANAGEMENT: THE GEOMORPHOLOGY OF THE SABIE RIVER IN THE EASTERN TRANSVAAL

ABSTRACT

Analysis of the Sabie River in the Eastern Transvaal has facilitated the development of a hierarchical classification suitable as a framework for fluvial research in a variety of disciplines and at a variety of scales. The system, which has its foundations in geomorphology, is based on existing discipline-specific classifications. It provides for the characterisation of a river in relation to geomorphological units (the smallest fluvial division in the classification), channel types (combinations of geomorphological units), reaches (specific assemblages of channel types), macro-reaches (reaches in a specific association) and zones (with boundaries at major breaks in slope or geological contacts). The classification has the advantage of readily being adaptable to other river systems, particularly those which, like the Sabie, do not conform to rivers which are well-documented in the fluvial research literature.