Any newly formed land surface, like a recently drained lake bed or part of the marginal sea bottom which has been raised into land, has a drainage system developed upon it. In the early or youthful stage of such a new land area lying well above sea level, under ordinary climatic conditions a few streams only form and these tend to follow the natural or initial slope of the land. These streams carve out narrow, steep-sided valleys, and all of them are actively engaged in cutting down their channels, or, in other words, none of them have reached base level, and flood plains and meandering curves are therefore lacking. During this youthful stage there are no sharp drainage divides; gorges and waterfalls are not uncommonly present; and the relief of the land in general is not rugged. A good example of youthful topography is the region around Fargo, North Dakota, which is part of the bed of a great recently drained lake. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River is an excellent illustration of a youthful valley cut in a high plateau of geologically recent origin. (Plate 2.) As time goes on, a region in youth gradually gives way to a region in maturity, during which stage the maximum number (usually a network) of streams in broader V-shaped valleys have developed; divisions of drainage are sharp; the maximum ruggedness of relief has developed; the larger streams only have cut down so near base level that winding (meandering) courses and flood plains are well developed along them; and waterfalls and gorges are rarely present. An almost perfect example of a region in maturity is that around Charleston, West Virginia. The old-age stage develops next in the history of the region, during which only a moderate number of streams remain, most of these being at or close to base level so that sweeping curves or meanders (Plate 4) and cut-off meanders or "ox bows" and wide flood plains are characteristic and common. The relief is greatly subdued and the term "rolling country" might be applied to the moderately hilly region. Divisions of drainage are, of course, not at all sharp and the valleys are wide and shallow. Oxbow lakes are common, but gorges and waterfalls are absent. A region typical of old-age topography is that around Caldwell, Kansas.