Morphology and recent history of the lower Spey

The morphology of the lower Spey Valley floor is produced by an actively braiding river. Three zones are distinguished: the present active channel, a zone of scrub and woodland worked over by the river in the last 200 years, and the remaining valley floor which is cultivated but still liable to inundation and sedimentation during floods. Historical maps and sections show that the degree of braiding is currently less than in the late nineteenth century, but the general surface level of sedimentation has altered little in 80 years.