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Geography Year 10 > Geography - Rivers > Flashcards

Geography - Rivers Flashcards

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1
Q

What makes landscapes in the UK distinctive?

A
  • Upland areas in Wales, Scotland and Northern England
  • Lowland areas in Southern England
  • River and coastal areas e.g. Jurassic coastline
  • Land use - how farming, mining, National Parks affect landscape
  • Culture - the history of the area
  • Geology - features resulting from different geology
  • Vegetation - woodland, grassland
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2
Q

How are physical landscapes in the UK affected by human activity?

A
  • Honeypot site - attracts a large number of people due to easy access or natural beauty
  • Carrying capacity - when the number of visitors exceeds the carrying capacity it can damage the landscape
  • Impact of visitors on Lake District - congestion on roads, footpath erosion, shops selling souvenirs, house prices increase due to second homes…however, boosts local economy, jobs created, business see increase in trade.
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3
Q

How can landscapes in the UK be managed? (Lake District)

A

Lake District:
- Repairing footpaths with stronger materials
- Creating new paths to protect other areas
- Fencing off damaged areas
- Information boards
- Banning parking on verges

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4
Q

What is a drainage basin?

A

An area drained by a river and its tributaries

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5
Q

What is lateral erosion?

A

horizontal/sideways erosion (when water wears away the land)

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6
Q

What is evaporation?

A

When a liquid (e.g. water) turns to a gas (e.g. water vapour) when heated

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7
Q

What are the 4 types of erosion?

A
  • Abrasion
  • Attrition
  • Hydraulic action
  • Solution
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8
Q

What is abrasion?

A

When material (e.g. boulders) carried by the river smashes/rubs against the river’s bed and banks, wearing it away

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9
Q

What is attrition?

A

Rocks carried by the river smash into each other. This makes them gradually become smaller and rounder.

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10
Q

What is solution?

(erosion)

A

Where water has a chemical reaction with rock e.g. limestone and dissolves it

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11
Q

What is hydraulic action?

A

When the power of the water forces air into cracks in the bed and banks. This causes the rock to break apart and the cracks to become wider

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12
Q

What are the 4 types of transportation?

A
  • Traction
  • Saltation
  • Suspension
  • Solution
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13
Q

What is traction?

A

When large, heavy pebbles are rolled along the river bed. This is most common near the source of a river, as here the load is larger.

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14
Q

What is saltation?

A

When pebbles are bounced along the river bed, most commonly near the source.

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15
Q

What is suspension?

A

When lighter sediment is suspended (carried) within the water, most commonly near the mouth of the river.

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16
Q

What is solution?

(transportation)

A

The transport of dissolved chemicals. This varies along the river depending on the presence of soluble rocks.

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17
Q

What is deposition?

A

When a river drops the material it has been carrying due to a loss of energy.

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18
Q

Where does deposition most commonly occur?

A
  • Where the velocity of a river decreases e.g. on the inner bend of meanders
  • At the mouth (where the river meets the sea)
  • On the floodplain when a river floods
  • Shallow water/when the volume of water decreases
19
Q

What are the three main processes of a river?

A
  • Erosion
  • Transportation
  • Deposition
20
Q

What are some landforms found along a river’s course?

A
  • V-shaped valleys
  • Waterfalls
  • Meanders
  • Oxbow lakes
  • Floodplains
21
Q

What happens to the width of the river along its course and why?

A

Increases
- As a river reaches its lower course, lateral erosion becomes more common (as gradient decreases) which widens the river

22
Q

What happens to the discharge of a river along its course and why?

A

Increases
- As more tributaries join the river, more water enters the river

23
Q

What happens to the velocity of the river along its course and why?

A

Increases
- Bedload is smaller and banks + bed are smoother, meaning that friction decreases and velocity increases

24
Q

What happens to the gradient of the river channel as the river flows downstream and why?

A

Decreases
- Meander migration widens the valley floor
- Lateral erosion flattens the valley - creating floodplains

25
Q

How are interlocking spurs formed?

A
  • At its source, a river is small and has limited energy
  • It flows naturally from side to side around ridges of more resitant rock, creating spurs
26
Q

How are V-shaped valleys formed?

A
  • Vertical erosion takes place, deepening the river channel
  • Weathering attacks the sides/slopes
    • This weakens the rock until mass movement moves the materal downslope
27
Q

Describe the formation of waterfalls and gorges.

A
  • Waterfalls are formed when hard (more resistant) rock overlays soft rock
  • Soft rock is eroded more rapidly (through hydraulic action and abrasion)
    • This undercuts the hard rock, creating an overhang
    • The force of the water creates a plunge pool
  • The hard rock overhang collapses because it has no support
  • The process repeats, retreating upstream and leaving a gorge (a steep sided valley) where it once was
28
Q

Describe the processes that occur at meanders.

A
  • Water flows fastest on the outside of a meander, eroding the banks and creating a river cliff
  • On the inside of the bend (where the river is flowing slower) deposition takes place creating a slip-off slope
29
Q

How are Oxbow Lakes formed?

A
  • Erosion on the outside of the bend narrows the neck of the meander, moving the meanders closer together
  • When there is a high discharge (usually in flood conditions,) the river cuts accross the neck, taker a new, straighter and shorter route
  • Deposition occurs, cutting off the original meander and leaving an Oxbow Lake
  • This lake will dry up over time since no more water is flowing into the lake
30
Q

What are floodplains?

A

Areas of land either side of a river that become covered in water when a river bursts its banks

31
Q

How are floodplains formed?

A
  • Erosion removes any interlocking spurs from a V-shaped valley, creating a wide and flat area on either side of the river
  • Material is deposited onto the floodplain during floods, increasing the height of the floodplain over time
  • Meander migration takes place in a river’s lower course
    • Erosion + deposition in a meander move a meander accross the valley floor, widening and flattening it
32
Q

What are some physical causes of flooding in Boscastle?

A
  • Intense rainfall, 185mm in 5 hours, did not allow time for water to infiltrate therefore overland flow increased
  • Large amount of rainfall earlier in the week and an input of 3 million tonnes of water meant ground was saturated and could hold no more water
  • Confluence of 3 rivers, Valency, Jordan and Paradise drained a small drainage basin of just 40Km2
  • Geology - impermeable sandstone did not allow water to infiltrate and therefore overland flow increased
  • Steep valley sides reduced infiltration
  • Thin soils couldn’t hold much water
33
Q

What are some human causes of flooding in Boscastle?

A
  • Narrow bridges became blocked with trees easily, diverting water into the streets
  • Deforestation results in fewer trees to intercept and store water - more water gets to the river
  • Urbanisation results in water flowing rapidly into drains over impermeable surfaces - water gets to the river channel quickly + drains can get clogged up
34
Q

What are some short term effects of flooding on Boscastle?

A
  • Water rushed down streets at 40mph as a 10ft wall of water ripping up roads and destroying both bridges
  • 80 cars in the car park were swept away in minutes
  • 6 properties were destroyed outright. Most others needed £15,000-£30,000 repairs
  • Harbourside Hotel and Witch Museum damaged
  • Most houses had 2 feet deposit of mud
35
Q

What are some long term effects of flooding on Boscastle?

A
  • Loss of trade amounted to £15m
  • Bed of the river Jordan was 10 feet higher
  • Most shops stayed shut for the rest of the season
  • Trade and tourism reduced
  • Value of homes permanently reduced - some by half - as less people wanted to buy houses there due to bad reputation in media
  • Stress and anxiety
36
Q

How does Shrewsbury protect itself against flooding?

A
  • Demountable barrier system – 1.5m to 3m tall, offers protection from 1 in 100 year flood
  • Adding two new pumping stations to reduce water backing up in drains, £3.5 million scheme - 1 in a 100 year chance
  • Flood embankments, located in a conservation area, so made sure they blended into the surrounding area. £2.4 million scheme, reduce the level of flood risk to a 1 in 100
  • Clywedog dam and reservoir, in the upper course of the Severn. Gives some protection immediately downstream but little benefit to Shrewsbury
  • Natural flood meadows (washlands) exist upstream of Shrewsbury and provide some protection
  • Levees constructed to provide protection for low lying agricultural land. Reduce risk of flooding to 1 in 10 or 20 chance in a year
37
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of hard engineering?

A

Advantages: very effective, strong and durable
Disadvantages: expensive, visually unattractive

38
Q

What are some advantages and disadvantages of soft engineering?

A

Advantages: relatively cheap, blends in with the natural environment
Disadvantages: may not be as strong/long lasting, can lead to conflict/controversy (e.g. washlands - allowing places to flood)

39
Q

What is floodplain zoning?

A

Where areas in a city are set aside for certain functions to reduce the impact of flooding
Examples:
- Areas close to a river are set aside for sports and recreational activities - can be lost
- Hospitals occupy higher land away from the risk e.g. JR
- Residential areas tend to be on higher ground than industries due to the risk of life

40
Q

What is a river regime?

A

The pattern of a river’s flow over a period of time

41
Q

Explain some factors that effect a river’s regime.

A
  • Precipitation: more precipitation (e.g. in the winter) leads to an increase in flow and discharge during that time
  • Geology: Impermeable ground means a fluctuating regime
  • Forests: Trees mean more interception and therefore less water reaching the river
    • Loss of leaves in the winter means less interception and more water reaching the river
42
Q

Why are some methods of flood prevention controversial in Shrewsbury?

A
  • Could spoil the historic beauty of the town
  • People unsure how useful flood protection actually is
  • The impact of the environment could be too great
  • Is it worth the money?
  • Disturbs locals while construction is taking place
  • Places (e.g. farmers fields) are allowed to flood
  • Negative impacts downstream (e.g. little water or higher risk of flooding)
43
Q

Why are flood defences in the Thames Estuary controversial?

A
  • Conflicting views over how long the Thames Barrier will be useful for - hard to predict future changes and how they might impact
  • Flood walls being used are protecting properties but others feel they funnel the water towards London
  • Managed realignment - landowners do not want farmland flooded but does soak up pollutants and provides a habitat, as well as protecting places further upstream
  • Building houses in the Thames Gateway - prime building land but increasing the risk of flooding
44
Q

How are levees formed?

A
  • When a river floods, sediment is deposited onto the floodplain
    • The river loses energy and deposits the largest material first (closest to the river) and then the smallest material (furthest away)
    • After many floods, the sediment builds up and increases the height of the banks
      • This means that the river can carry more water and therefore helps protect against future floods

Geography Year 10 (2 decks)

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