Chapter 8 - The Work of Rivers Flashcards
Define tributaries.
Smaller rivers that join a larger river.
Define confluence.
The place where a tributary joins the main river.
Define estuary.
The tidal mouth of the river.
Define delta.
Land that forms at the mouth of rivers.
Define mouth.
Where the river enters the sea or lake.
Define distributaries.
Small rivers that break off from the main river as it enters the sea.
Define basin.
The area drained by the river and its tributaries.
Define course.
The path of the river from source to mouth.
Define source.
Where the river begins.
What is erosion?
Erosion is the wearing away of rock, the transport of that rock and its deposition. This is carried out by rivers, moving ice and the sea.
Define load.
The material transported by a river.
How do rivers erode?
(a) Hydraulic action
(b) Abrasion
(c) Attrition
(d) Solution
Define hydraulic action.
This is erosion carried out by the force of the flowing water in the river.
Define abrasion.
The river uses its load (of earth and rocks) to erode the bed and banks (channel of the river).
Define attrition.
The river’s load is worn down when the pieces collide so that the stones are smoothed and made smaller.
