geography revison p1 Flashcards
what are waves caused by?
Wind blowing over the ocean surface.
what is swash and backwash?
swash: movement up the beach. Backwash: water running back down the beach.
what are constructive waves?
waves that add material - stronger swash than backwash.
what are destructive waves?
waves that remove material (more frequent in winter)- stronger backwash than swash.
give 2 examples of hard rock.
granite, basalt
give an example of soft rock.
clay
what is weathering?
the action of the atmosphere on rock.
what is mass movement
The downslope of movement of material under the influence of gravity.
what hydraulic action?
Force of waves hitting cliff face causing bits of rock to break off.
What is abrasion?
when pebbles grind along a rock platform or cliff base
what is attrition?
when material such as rocks and stones carried by waves hit and knock against each other wearing them down.
what is traction?
large, heavy pebbles are rolled along the river bed.
what is suspension?
lighter sediment is suspended (carried) within the water, most commonly near the mouth of the river.
what is saltation?
pebbles are bounced along the river bed
what is longshore drift?
the transportation of sediments along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle incoming wave direction
what is depostition?
When the river loses energy, it drops any of the material it has been carrying
what is a drainage basin?
the area of land around the river that is drained by the river and its tributaries.
what is watershed?
the area of high land forming the edge of a river basin
what is the estuary?
The open mouth of the river where it meets the sea.
what is a floodplain?
An area of low-lying land next to a river which is prone to flooding.
what is the source?
The place where a river starts in its upper course.
what is the mouth?
where a river meets the sea
what is the confluence?
where two or more rivers meet.
what is the tributary?
a small river or stream that joins a larger river
what is the channel?
this is where the river flows
what is the suspended load?
Material carried in the body of water.
what is bedload?
material carried along the channel bed.
what does the long profile of a river show?
It shows how the river changes over its course.
what is the lower course?
where the river starts (often an upland area)
what does a cross-profile show?
It shows a cross-section of a river’s channel and valley at a certain point along the river’s course.
What is a waterfall?
a sudden drop along the river course
What is an interlocking spur?
A hill that a river meanders around in a V-shaped valley. When viewed from downstream, these spurs appear to be locked together.
What is lateral erosion?
The wearing away of the landscape when a river erodes sideways.
what is a meander?
A bend in a river.
what is a levee?
Raised areas of coarser material beside a river channel, overtime due to flooding the sides are built up because of the deposits of material. (Can also be artificially constructed banks or walls.)
what is an oxbow lake?
a curved lake formed from a horseshoe bend in a river where the main stream has cut across the narrow end and no longer flows around the loop of the bend.
what is a plunge pool?
The pool of water found at the bottom of a waterfall. It is an erosional feature which has been created by a combination of hydraulic action and the abrasion of the plunging water.
what is a river cliff?
Steep bank created on the outside of a river bend by the erosive effect of fast-flowing water undercutting the bank.
what is a slip off slope?
Gently sloping bank found on the inside of a river bend because of slow-flowing water, depositing sediment.
what is a floodplain?
An area of low-lying land next to a river which is prone to flooding.
what is a gorge?
A deep, narrow passage that usually has a river running through it