Overview
Rivers and streams are dynamic landscape features. They move across floodplains by:
- depositing sediment (accretion)
- undercutting and eroding banks (erosion)
Erosion and accretion are natural processes and usually occur slowly over time. As a river moves, so do its natural boundaries. Flooding may cause sudden changes in a river or stream course. But the location of ownership boundaries does not change.
The Crown generally owns the beds and shores of rivers and streams. For information on exceptions, see: