1 Hamartia: Many people who discuss tragedy often mention the hero's 'fatal' or 'tragic flaw.' However, Aristotle would never accuse a hero of such a personal defect. 2  Instead, he asserted that they were guilty of hamartia, or missing the mark.
Floodplains are landscapes shaped by running water. As streams and their larger forms, rivers, flow across the surface of land, they transport eroded rock and other material. (Erosion is the gradual wearing away of Earth surfaces through the action of wind and water.)
Meanders form because water erodes the outside of curves and deposits eroded material on the inside. Over time, the curves shift position. As meanders erode from side to side, they create a floodplain. This is a broad, flat area on both sides of a river.