Floodplain

A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river. Floodplains stretch from the banks of a river channel to the base of the enclosing valley, and experience flooding during periods of high discharge. The soils usually consist of clays, silts, sands, and gravels deposited during floods.

Because of regular flooding, floodplains frequently have high soil-fertility since nutrients are deposited with the flood waters. This can encourage farming; Some important agricultural regions, such as the Mississippi River basin and the Nile River basin, heavily exploit floodplains. Agricultural regions, as well as urban areas, have developed near or on floodplains to take advantage of the rich soil and freshwater. However, the risk of inundation has led to increasing efforts to control flooding.