ABSTRACT
The variation in elevation of a river bed is usually presented graphically as a function of the distance to the outlet. This kind of representation is useful when we want to compare secondary streams in a watershed to each other or to the principal stream. Note that this graphic is different from most because it takes account of the fact that the tributaries are on either the left or the right bank of the principal river. A profile of the total length of a river system allows us to determine its average slope (Figure 3.15).
