Key Words - Rivers

Question 1

long profile

Answer 1

the gradient of a river, from its source to its mouth

Question 2

cross profile

Answer 2

the side by side cross section of a river channel or valley

Question 3

erosion

Answer 3

wearing away and removal of material by a river

Question 4

transportation

Answer 4

the movement of eroded material

Question 5

deposition

Answer 5

occurs when material being transported by a river is dropped due to it losing energy

Question 6

interlocking spur

Answer 6

where mountain streams weave their way through the V-shaped valley and around the finger of land that just out

Question 7

waterfall

Answer 7

a step in the long profile of a river usually formed when a river crosses over a hard (resistant) band of rock

Question 8

gorge

Answer 8

a narrow steep-sided valley, often formed as a waterfall retreats upstream

Question 9

meander

Answer 9

a wide bend in a river

Question 10

ox-bow lake

Answer 10

an arc-shaped lake on a floodplain formed by a cut-off meander

Question 11

levee

Answer 11

raised band found on either side of a river, formed naturally by regular flooding or built up by people to protect against flooding

Question 12

floodplain

Answer 12

relatively flat area forming the valley floor either side of a river channel that sometimes floods

Question 13

estuary

Answer 13

today mouth of a river where it meets the sea - wide banks of deposited mud are exposed at low tide

Question 14

hydrograph

Answer 14

a graph which shows the discharge of a river, related to rainfall, over a period of time

Question 15

discharge

Answer 15

quantity of water that passes a given point on a stream or river band within a given period of time

Question 16

hard engineering

Answer 16

using concrete or large artificial structures to defend against natural processes, either coastal, fluvial or glacial

Question 17

soft engineering

Answer 17

managing erosion by working with natural processes to reduce the risk of river flooding

Question 18

drainage basin

Answer 18

an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

Question 19

v-shaped valley

Answer 19

when a river is near its source, it often develops a v-shaped valley as the river erodes down (vertical erosion)

Question 20

flood

Answer 20

where river discharge exceeds river channel capacity and water spills onto the flood plain