Floodplains filter water and provide silt and nutrients that make them fertile places. Perhaps the most famous examples are the fertile floodplains of Egypt’s Nile Valley region, which have supported civilizations for several millennia. Floodplains also provide fresh water and backwaters to wetlands, and they also dilute salts, thereby improving the health of the habitat for fish, bird, and plant populations that inhabit the floodplains.

Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2023. 2p.