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.)
Without regular flooding, many floodplains are losing the nutrients that replenish the soils and are good for agriculture. In hindsight, people have realized the benefits of floodplains, and there are now many places in world where flood control projects are being undone. Lesson Summary A floodplain is where a stream or river regularly overflows, whether it's over a small area or gigantic area.