E-ISSN : 2541-5794  
   P-ISSN : 2503-216X  

Journal of Geoscience,  
Engineering, Environment, and Technology 
Vol 03 No 01 2018 

 

 
Yuniarti, Y. et al./ JGEET Vol 03 No 01/2018  63 

 

Quaternary Sediment Characteristic of Floodplain Area: Study 
Case at Kampar River, Rumbio Area and Surroundings,  

Riau Province 

Yuniarti Yuskar
 1,

*, Dewandra Bagus Eka Putra
1
, M. Revanda

1
 

1
Department of Geological Engineering, Universitas Islam Riau, Jl. Kaharudding Nasution No 113 Pekanbaru, 28284, Indonesia.  

 
* Corresponding author : yuniarti_yuskar@eng.uir.ac.id  
Tel.:+62-821-6935-4941 
Received: Oct 1, 2016. Revised : 15 Nov 2016, Accepted: Nov 20, 2016, Published: 1 Dec 2016 (Filled by editor)  

DOI:  10.24273/jgeet.2018.3.1.1226 

 
Abstract 

The study area is located in some floodplains of meandering river environment along the Kampar River, Rumbio. Typical 

morphology of meandering river that found in this area can be classified as stream channel, floodplain, abandoned channel, 

and sand bars deposit. Meandering river system carries sediment supply by suspended and bed - load (mixed load) in 

conjunction with low energy into a particular characteristic on sediment deposition. This study aims to determine the 

characteristics of the sediments, changes in vertical and lateral spread of sediment deposition on the floodplain environment. 

This study conducted by field survey using a hand auger of 1.5m - 4m depth and trenching which is a layer that has been 

exposed of 1-2 meters depth. Further analysis had been carried out using granulometri method and core data analysis to 

determine the characteristics and depositional facies. Sediment deposit that formed along the Kampar River is the result of 

the main channel migration of Kampar River. The characteristic of quaternary sediment facies is coarse to gravelly sand on 

the bottom followed by fine to very fine sand with pattern fining upwards and silt to clay and abundant terrestrial organic 

matter at the uppermost layer. Depositional facies are determined based on the characteristics of sediment facies which can 

be grouped into a stream channel, oblique accretion deposits, sand bars and overbank deposits.  

Keywords: Quaternary Sediment, floodplain, facies, Meander River, Kampar  

 

  

1. Introduction  

The problem of quantitatively characterizing the 

plan geometry of meandering stream channels has 

intrigued engineers and earth scientists for more 

than 80 years (

Abrahams, 1986). A meander was formed by the 

continuous erosion process at the river bank as a 

result of river bend. Meandering river was 

transported and deposited by suspended and bed-

load (mixed load) process which characterized as 

low energy. The bedload is carried by the flow in the 

channel, with the coarsest material carried in the 

deepest parts of the channel. Finer bedload is also 

carried in shallower parts of the flow and is 

deposited along the inner bend of a meander loop 

where friction reduces the flow velocity (Nichols, 

2009). Types of sediment that formed by 

meandering pattern are channel deposit, point bar, 

natural leeve, floodplain, oxbow lake, and crevasse 

splay (Yuskar and Choanji, 2017).  

The study area is located in some floodplains of 

meandering river environment along the Kampar 

River, Rumbio. Typical morphology of meandering 

river that found in this area can be classified as 

stream channel, floodplain, abandoned channel, 

and sand bars deposit.  

Floodplains have received considerable 

attention in recentvyears because of the valuable 

social and ecological functions of these systems, 

such as flood control, sediment and nutrient 

retention, recreational opportunities, timber 

production, and wildlife habitat (Pierce and King, 

2008). Erosion from the banks of meandering rivers 

causes a local influx of sediment to the river channel 

(Lauer and Parker, 2008). 

Understanding the time scales and pathways for 

response and recovery of rivers and floodplains to 

episodic changes in erosion and sedimentation has 

been a long standing issue in fluvial geomorphology 

(Knox, 2006). Floodplains are dynamic feature that 

co-evolve with channel so at the present time there 

is no universal theory that available to predict 

floodplain width in natural rivers (as a function of 

drainage area, bank-full discharge, or sediment flux, 

etc) because floodplain morphology dynamically 

integrates across these and the other factors, over 

some unconfined time interval in the environment 

history of the watershed (Belmont, 2011). 

mailto:yuniarti_yuskar@eng.uir.ac.id


 
64  Yuniarti, Y. et al./ JGEET Vol 03 No 01/2018 
 

Floodplain is a strip of land that borders a stream 

channel and that is normally inundated during 

seasonal floods. Sediment is transported over the 

flooding as bed load and suspended load during 

floods. The sediment comes from the main channel, 

the valley sides and the floodplain itself 

(Posamentier, Roger G.; Walker, 2006). Sediment of 

point bar deposited medium sand with good sorting 

and upwards fining couplets during flood events. 

Some flood channels become enlarged during 

floods, and may become the dominant channel 

(Wood et al., 2008). The relative contribution of a 

variety of accretion deposits  to  the  formation  of  

meandering  river floodplains  have  been  the  

subject  of  prolonged discussion in the 

geomorphological literature. 

The geometry of river channels and their flow 
style are controlled by a complex interplay of 
factors, including discharge, slope, climate and 
vegetation, amongst others (Stanistreet et al., 1993). 

This study aims to determine the characteristics 
of the sediments deposit in the floodplain area that 
is resulted from abandoned channel, oblique and 
lateral accretion deposits and sediment that was 
carried during flooding in its surrounding. Vertical 
changing and lateral deployment of sediment 
deposit on the floodplain area can also be seen by 
looking at the physic and biology characteristics of 
these sediments.  

2. Geological Setting 

One of the meandering river system in the Riau 

Province, Indonesia is the Kampar River. Kampar 

River on the Sumatra Island in Indonesia originates 

in the mountainous Bukit Barisan of West Sumatra, 

and empties into the Malacca Strait on the island's 

eastern coast. The river is the confluence of two big 

tributaries, Kampar Kanan River and Kampar Kiri 

River. The tributaries meet in the Langgam 

subdistrict, Pelalawan Regency, before flowing into 

the Malacca Strait as the Kampar River. Koto 

Panjang, an artificial lake upstream of the river, is 

used to power a hydroelectric generating plant. The 

River has a lenght of 413 km and an average depth 

of 7.7 km and average width of 143 m (Yuskar and 

Choanji, 2017). Fluvial meander system developed 

typical oxbow lake morphology with tropical rain 

forest, sand bar and river with fishery product. It has 

been used as a local attraction (Yuskar, 2016); 

(Choanji et al., 2018). 

Rumbio is a district in Kampar Regency with 

elevation ranging between 25 to 50m above sea 

level. The landscape that developed in research area 

were channel, floodplain, natural leeve, point bars, 

abandoned channel, and oxbow lake. This  area is 

gently sloping and the occurrence of heavy rainfall 

may cause flooding. 

Sediment distribution in research area shows by 

quaternary age landforms. Along The Kampar Kanan 

River was deposited Young Alluvium (Qh) during 

Holocene aged that consist of gravels, sands and 

clays (Clarke, M.C.G; Kartawa, W.; Djunuddin, 

A.;Suganda, E.; Bagdja, 1982).  

Fig. 1 Location of Study Areas 

 

 

 = Study Area 

 



 
Yuniarti, Y. et al./ JGEET Vol 03 No 01/2018 65

   

3. Methodology

Field survey had been conducted to collect the 

data by using hand auger drilling in eight different 

points and trenching method in two localities 

(Fig.1). Laboratory analysis such as grain size 

analysis or sieve analysis,core analysis, and facies 

analysis had been carried out to obtain the result. 

The depths of drilling core ranging from 1.5 to 4m. 

Trenching was done around the drilling points to 

observed the sedimentary layers that had been 

exposed in the surface with 1-3m thickness. Grain 

size determination was done using sieve analysis 

method, mesh size 2.38mm, 1.19mm, 0.6mm, 

0.297mm, 0.149mm and 0.074mm. The sample also 

being described to identify the sediment 

characteristic up to depositional facies.  

 

4. Result and Discussion 

Morphological condition of the study area was 

flat ramp that lying on the floodplain and 

abandoned channel environment of Kampar River. 

The difference of physical and biological 

characteristic are the main parameters in 

determination of sedimentary facies. Sieve analysis 

result of core and trenching data shows coarse to 

gravelly sand at the bottom layer followed by fine 

to very fine sand with pattern fining upwards and 

silt to clay and abundant terrestrial organic matter 

at the uppermost layer.  

There are three observed layers in TO-05 with 

3.5m thickness. Bottom layer (0-50cm) have 

reddish brown color and coarse sand  vey coarse 

sand in grain. Second layer (51-200cm) have 

blackish brown color, coarse sand  very coarse 

sand in grain and overgrown by plant roots. The 

uppermost layer (201-350cm) is medium sand  

fine sand. The sedimentary layers at this locality 

shown fining upward changing in grain size (Fig.2). 

 

 

Fig 2. Sieve analysis shown the grain size percentage of 

each layer in TO-05. 

 

Fig 3. Sieve analysis shown the grain size percentage of 

each layer in TO-10 . 

Two sedimentary layers had been observed in 

TO-10. Bottom layer (30cm thick) has brownish 

grey weathered color and grey fresh color. Grain 

size distribute from silt to very fine sand and the 

plant roots was found in this layer. The upper layer 

(203cm thick) has pebble to boulder floating grain 

size, brownish grey weathered color, grey fresh 

color and more plant roots compare to the lower 

layer.  

There are three to seven sedimentary layers 

can be observed in TO-08 with thickness 10m (Fig. 

4). Bottom layer (100cm thick) have reddish grey 

weathered color and grey fresh colour, very fine 

sand to silt and ripple mark because of water 

flowing. Then, at top of the first layer were 

deposited clay sediment with reddish grey colour 

and paralel lamination sedimentary structure. After 

that, pebble coarse sand and fining up layer became 

fine sand. Then sicnificantly, thick layers of pebble 

coarse sand were deposited (100cm to 250cm 

thick). Furthermore, the grain size sediment 

changing become fine to very fine sand with 250cm 

thick and at the other part of the section, this layer 

have 550cm thick. The colour of this layer is greyish 

white at the bottom layer and become reddish grey 

at the top layer is caused intensively weather. The 

toppest layer is soil with plant root.  

4.1. Sediment Facies 

Based on the sieve analysis result of core and 

trenching data (Fig.4) and from the core description 

(Fig.5), there are several sediment facies in this 

study area: 

 

1. Pebble coarse sand  

Coarse sand to pebble have blackish brown 

color and intercalation with thin reddish sand, 

resulting from the oxidation process.  

 

 

0

20

40

60

80

100

0,010,1110

V
o

lu
m

e
 (

%
)

Grain Diameter (mm)

TO-05

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

0

20

40

60

80

100

0,010,1110

V
o

lu
m

e
 (

%
)

Grain Diameter (mm)

TO-10

Layer 1

Layer 2



 
66  Yuniarti, Y. et al./ JGEET Vol 03 No 01/2018 
 

 
 

Fig. 4 Profile analysis of trenching data (TO-08) 

 

 

 

Fig. 5 Sieve analysis of drill core (RP-01, RP-03 and RP-
08). 

This facies was found in 150-145cm depth at 

core RP-1, 250-220cm depth at core RP-2, 320-

194cm depth at core RP-5 and 350-261 depth 

at core RP-8. 

2. Pebble coarse sand  

Coarse sand to pebble have blackish brown 

color and intercalation with thin reddish sand, 

resulting from the oxidation process. This facies 

was found in 150-145cm depth at core RP-1, 

250-220cm depth at core RP-2, 320-194cm 

depth at core RP-5 and 350-261 depth at core 

RP-8. 

3. Silt to Clay intercalation with thin red sand 

Silt to clay sediment, greyish brown color was 

found in 145-120cm depth at core RP-1. This 

layer intercalation with thin orange sand that 

contain Fe and had been oxidized. 

4. Clay sediment 

This lithofacies was found in 242-162cm depth 

at core RP-7. Sediment deposit is black clay that 

0

20

40

60

80

100

0,011

V
o

lu
m

e
 (

%
)

Grain Diameter (mm)

RP - 08

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layer 4

Layer 5

Layer 6

0
20
40
60
80

100

0,011
V

o
lu

m
e

 (
%

)
Grain Diameter (mm)

RP - 01

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layer 4

Layer 5

0

20

40

60

80

100

0,011

V
o

lu
m

e
 (

%
)

Grain Diameter (mm)

RP - 03

Layer 1

Layer 2

Layer 3

Layer 4

Layer 5

Layer 6



 
Yuniarti, Y. et al./ JGEET Vol 03 No 01/2018 67

   

rich in organic material or carbon and wood 

pieces. 

5. Very Fine Sand with minor terrestrial organic 

matters 

Brown very fine sand in 134-120cm depth at 

RP-1, in 139-121cm depth at RP-5. Intercalation 

of reddish orange sand and fine roots also found 

in this layer. The changing of color to grey is the 

characteristic of very fine sand at core RP-6 in 

264-179cm depth. 

6. Fine sand with terrestrial organic matters 

and oxidation 

Fine grain sand, brownish color, presence of 

small plant roots and intercalation of red sand 

caused by the oxidation process. Found in 151-

95cm depth at core RP-3 and 92-42cm depth at 

core RP-5 but brownish grey color and without 

intercalation of reddish sand. 

7. Silt with terrestrial organic matters 

Silt with reddish orange color and overgrown 

by fine roots, found in 100-67cm at core RP-3 

and 22-0cm at core RP-5, grey color. At core RP-

8 in 124-52cm depth, blackish brown color, 

overgrown by fine roots and found the 

presence of floating pebble (0.2-1cm in size). 

8. Clay with terrestrial organic matters 

Blackish brown clay with larger part of plant. 

Found in 51-25cm depth at core RP-3. 

 

4.2. Depositional Fasies 

Based on the sedimentary facies analysis of core and 
trenching data, the depositional facies can be 
categorize into channel deposit, oblique accretion 
deposit and overbank deposit (Fig. 6).  
 
1. Channel deposit found at the bottom layer, 

characterized by fining up succession and 
constantly begin with coarse sand to pebble. 
Several sediment facies had been found such as 
pebble coarse sand, silt to clay with oxidation 
sand and clay sediment. 

2. Oblique accretion deposit the drilling point 
was located in the river loop where the erosion 
occurred and deposition of lateral accretion 
deposit took place. This deposit characterized 
by fining up succession, fine sand  very fine 
sand in grain size and the sediment facies was 
very fine sand to fine sand with minor 
terrestrial organic matters. 

3. Sand bar deposit this deposit characterized by 

coarsening up succesion, fine to medium sand 

in grain size and the sediment facies was fine 

sand with terrestrial organic matters and 

oxidation. 

4. Overbank deposit sediment that carried by the 
flood and frequently outside of the channel. 
Deposited at the upper layer, silt to clay in grain 
size and overgrown by plant roots. Several 
sediment facies were found such as fine sand 
with terrestrial organic matters and oxidiation, 

silt with terrestrial organic matters, and clay 
with terrestrial organic matters. 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Fig. 6 Depositional facies analysis of core data (RP-01, RP-

03 and RP-08). 

 

 



 
68  Yuniarti, Y. et al./ JGEET Vol 03 No 01/2018 
 

5. Conclusion  

The research area was a floodplain environment 

that formed as a result of multistory channel caused 

The author would like to say thanks to Lembaga 

Penelitian dan Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat 

(LPPM) Universitas Islam Riau (UIR) for funding and 

support this research. We also say thanks to all 

Sedimentology and Hidrology laboratorium team 

member (Batara, Dilla Permata Sari, Peter 

Syahputra, Desi Wijayanti, Miftahul Jannah, Bayu 

Defitra, Tristan Aulia, Genta Rier, Muchtar Zafir, 

Sandi Masdrianto, Susilo and M. Iqbal) who help us 

in this research.  

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