geography river landscapes Flashcards
abrasion
rocks carried along a river wear down the rivers bed and banks
aerial photo
an image taken from above ground level looking down on a landscape, they can either be vertical looking directly down to the ground or oblique looking sideways
alluvium
sediment deposited by a river when it floods
attrition
rocks being carried by the river smash into each other and break up into smaller rounder smoother particles
benefits
financial savings made by preventing flooding, along with any environmental improvements
channel
the rivers main water coarse
channel straightening
removing meanders from a river to make it straighter
confluence
where a tributary joins a large river
costs
the financial cost a scheme, and any negative impacts on the environment and on people live’s
course
the path of the river channel or its valley
cross profile
a cross-section of a river channel or its valley
dam
a barrier built across a valley to interrupt the water flow in a river
deposition
occurs when the material being transported by the sea is dropped due to the sea losing energy
discharge
quantity of water that passes a given point on a stream or river bank within a given period of time
drainage basin
an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
embankment
artificially raised river banks often using concrete walls
estuary
estuary tidal mouth of a river where it meets the sea wide banks od deposited mud are exposed at low tide
flash flood
a very sudden flood even resulting from a torrential downpour or rainstorm
flood
where river discharge exceeds river channel capacity and water spills into the floodplain
flood relief channel
artificial channels that are used when a river is close to the maximum discharge. They take the pressure off the main channels when floods are likely
