Geography Key Defintions - RIVERS

Question 1

Erosion

Answer 1

The wearing away & removal of material

Question 2

Hydraulic Action

Answer 2

The sheer force of the water hitting the river bed & banks

Question 3

Abrasion

Answer 3

When the load carried by the river repeatedly hits the bed, dislodging particles into the flow of the river

Question 4

Attrition

Answer 4

When stones in the river knock against each other, becoming smaller and more rounded

Question 5

Solution (Erosion)

Answer 5

When the river flows over chalk or limestone, slowly eroding it

Question 6

Vertical Erosion

Answer 6

When the river erodes downwards

Question 7

Lateral Erosion

Answer 7

When the river erodes sideways

Question 8

Traction

Answer 8

Large particles rolled on the river bed

Question 9

Saltation

Answer 9

Bouncing of particle too heavy to be suspended

Question 10

Suspension

Answer 10

Small sediment held in the river

Question 11

Solution (Transportation)

Answer 11

Dissolved load

Question 12

Long profile

Answer 12

The gradient of a river from its source to the mouth

Question 13

Cross profile

Answer 13

The side cross section of a river or valley

Question 14

Transportation

Answer 14

Movement of eroded material

Question 15

Deposition

Answer 15

Material carried is dropped due to loss in energy

Question 16

Interlocking Spurs

Answer 16

Where mountain streams weave their way through the v shaped valley

Question 17

Waterfall

Answer 17

A step in the long profile, causes when the river flows over resistant rock

Question 18

Gorge

Answer 18

A narrow steep sided valley formed when a river retreats upstream

Question 19

Meander

Answer 19

A wide bend in a river

Question 20

Ox-bow lake

Answer 20

An arc shaped lake on a floodplain caused by a cut off meander

Question 21

Levee

Answer 21

Raised bank on either bank of a river, caused by regular flooding or man made

Question 22

Floodplain

Answer 22

Relatively flat area formed around a river channel that sometimes floods

Question 23

Estuary

Answer 23

Tidal mouth of where the river meets the sea—wide banks of deposited mud are exposed at low tide

Question 24

Hydrograph

Answer 24

Graph which shows the discharge of a river, relative to rainfall over a period of time

Question 25

Hard engineering

Answer 25

Using concrete or artificial structures to defend against natural processes

Question 26

Discharge

Answer 26

Quantity of water that passes a given point in a period of time

Question 27

Soft engineering

Answer 27

Managing erosion by working with natural processes to reduce flooding

Question 28

Drainage basin

Answer 28

An area of land drained by a river & and it’s tributaries

Question 29

V shaped valley

Answer 29

At its source a river forms a v shaped valley as it erodes downward

Question 30

Flood

Answer 30

When river discharge exceeds river capacity and spills onto the flood plain