I will review patterns of deep-water channel fill stratigraphy, based largely on outcrop investigations of Upper Cretaceous units in southern Chile (Tres Pasos Formation, Magallanes Basin). Linking observations from Chile to those from many other basins around the world, I will identify a series of channel fill characteristics that have been unsatisfactorily explained to date. To demonstrate a relatively poorly established link between sedimentary processes and stratigraphic products in deep-water channel systems, I will compare deep-water channels and their deposits to the more comprehensive meandering river facies model. I will then introduce observations of the modern Bute Inlet submarine channel system (British Columbia, Canada), including time-lapse bathymetry data, which reveals that upstream migrating knickpoints are the most important mechanism of deep-water channel maintenance. These observations inspire reinterpretation of the stratigraphic record in Chile, providing a unique opportunity to link sedimentary processes to products. In addition to the fundamental relevance of this work to understanding deep-water sedimentary systems, the outcomes of the analyses are useful for multi-scale predictions of connectivity in subsurface reservoirs.