woodjam

plural woodjams

1. biologyAn accumulation of wood and debris from vegetation that slows the flow of a river or stream.

   Straining against the last light, I finally got it tied on and tossed it out to the top of the woodjam.

   1977, Harmon Henkin, The Complete Fisherman's Catalog, page 65

   3 more examples

   […] to treat potential chronic and catastrophic sedimentation problems caused by forest roads, restore riparian areas and re-establish large woodjams at ecologically appropriate sites.

   1993, Robert Doppelt, Mary Scurlock, Entering the Watershed, page 67

   Fishes (especially small ones) often use complex hiding cover such as roots,wood jams, or aquatic macrophytes to avoid predators.

   2012, Tim Beechie, Philip Roni, Stream and Watershed Restoration

   In the anastomosing river model, stable alluvial deposits associated with woodjams can resist lateral channel erosion for hundreds of years, providing sites for tree germination.

   2020, Ellen Wohl, Rivers in the Landscape, page 286