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

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Abstract
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.