Geography of braided rivers within the territory of Russia

The paper represents the geographical analysis of braided river channels development and distribution for the first time in Russian Scientific Literature. On asmall-scale map of Russia we display the distribution of braided channels on small and middle mountain, semi-mountain and plain rivers, in free and limited conditions of channel changes development (on rivers with wide floodplain and incised channel), which are determined by geologic-geomorphologic structure of the territory. On the large and largest rivers we distinguish braided reaches of different morphological types according to the MSU classification (single, conjugated, one-sided and alternate one-sided, sub-parallel branches, etc) and also bifurcations as aconsequence of meander cut-off which complicate the morphology of straight and meandering channels. Separately we display bifurcations on the other structural levels of channel processes development point mid-channel bifurcations on mountain reaches of large rivers, split channels and deltaic braided reaches. The causes of different types of braided channels development in different natural conditions are described.