Barcelona Field Studies Centre

River Cross Section Creator and Calculator

Enter your river data to quickly make a river cross section and calculate the cross sectional area, wetted perimeter and hydraulic radius. Braided channel cross sections can be created by entering land as negative data. Download an image of your cross section and print the data calculations used to construct and analyse it.

The 'More' button opens more calculation options, including river discharge. Manning's n can be used to calculate river velocity. The 'Customise' button opens options to change the cross section title and set the X axis range.

Enter your fieldwork results in the calculator below. Select the type of cross section required (drawn with rounded or straight lines) and click the 'Calculate' button to calculate your data. The 'Open Cross Section' button will open your river cross section in a new window. A menu appears above the cross section offering several options, including downloading an image. Hover over the image to display the data.

River Cross Section Creator and Calculator

















River cross section example

Braided channel cross section example

River valley cross section maker

Method of measuring river discharge