Waterfalls form over time as river water erodes less resistant rock more quickly than more resistant rock, causing the river gradient to change. This leads the river to plunge from a great height, forming a waterfall. Repeated pounding of the river bed at the base of waterfalls creates depressions known as plunge pools. Floodplains are formed along river banks during heavy rainfall as the river's energy decreases and deposits sediments, with coarser sediments accumulating into raised banks called levees and finer sediments creating flat plains further from the river.