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Fine particles in rivers comprise a substantial fraction (> 50%) of the mass leaving a watershed, represent significant carriers of nutrients and contaminants, and are a water quality and river geomorphology concern with the potential to both degrade and enhance aquatic habitats. Predicting fine particle transport within rivers remains complicated as the flux of suspended material has a complex relation with river discharge. Current analysis of suspended sediment dynamics is site-specific, and typically parameterized as an empirical function of catchment land use, geology, and climate. However, recent evidence of significant fine particle interactions with river beds and banks indicates that the flux of suspended sediment strongly depends on reach-scale hydraulics. To better understand these new observations, we synthesized over 40 years of suspended sediment concentration (SSC), hydraulic geometry, river flow …