Contemporary and palaeo channel patterns and the late quaternary stratigraphy of Cooper Creek, Southwest Queensland, Australia

Braided and anastomosing channels make up two major coexistent networks in the mud‐dominated fluvial system of Cooper Creek, Southwest Queensland. The floodplain is characterized by a system of mud braids operative when floods inundate the whole alluvial surface. Anastomosing channels are inset deeper into the floodplain, operate at modern flows, and transport a traction load of sand. Shallow stratigraphic data show that an underlying sand sheet is unrelated to surface channel patterns and was formed by a system of meandering streams. According to preliminary dates based on thermoluminescence, the change from a sand‐ to mud‐dominated fluvial regime took place between 50 000 and 200 000 years B.P., and probably reflects increasing aridity.