The geomorphological characteristics of the Mekong River in northern Cambodia: A mixed bedrock–alluvial multi-channel network

The controls on the development of channel morphology of bedrock-constrained rivers are poorly known. The relative importance of lithological and structural control on channel alignment and character in comparison with the role of hydraulic erosion of the substratum is unclear. In addition, bedrock rivers often have a variable sediment fill and can be described as mixed bedrock–alluvial systems. The Mekong River in northern Cambodia is an anastomosed mixed bedrock–alluvial channel, but little and poorly researched. In this paper information has been gathered from diverse literature sources; digital data sets showing topography, hydrology, geology and land cover; past aerial photographs; and maps. Such data, together with field survey, provide a clear picture of the Mekong River in this region.The channels may be classified into three types: primary, secondary, cross channels. The varying characteristics of these three help towards understanding the evolution of the modern Mekong. Similarly the two-fold classification of the islands reveals the relationship between island inundation characteristics and the annual monsoon flood cycle. The associated riparian vegetation ecotones include a rare and unusual seasonally-inundated forest. Spatial variations in lithology and structure, when combined with maps of river networks, reveals that the channel alignments locally reflect the geological factors that cause the regional topographical gradient. Fault-line constraints on the local slopes of the channel may induce backwater effects and consequent sedimentation patterns (alluvial overprints) or alternatively, steepening of the channels with concomitant reduction in sedimentation. These structural constraints, taken together, lead to the identification of a mixed bedrock–alluvial five-fold geomorphological zonation within the study area. The general absence of paleochannels, and terraces close to the modern river, indicates that the Mekong is laterally stable with a dominating channel that downcuts. Consequently, a flood surface of limited lateral extent constrains entire floods.