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GCSE Geography Questions > Paper 1 - River Landscapes and Processes > Flashcards

Paper 1 - River Landscapes and Processes Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the Watershed?

A

The outline of the Drainage Basin

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2
Q

What is the Drainage Basin?

A

The area over which a river covers

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3
Q

What is the River Source?

A

Where the river begins, or comes from

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4
Q

What is a Confluence?

A

Where two rivers are stream join to create a wider channel

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5
Q

What is a Tributary?

A

Where a smaller river or stream joins the bigger, man channel

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6
Q

What is the River Mouth?

A

Where the river meets the sea

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7
Q

Why does a river’s velocity increase as it travels dowstream?

A
  • There is change in gradient
  • More water from confluences/tributaries
  • Less friction of the river bed due to erosion
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8
Q

Why does gradient decrease as the river travels downstream?

A
  • Not enough water at the source to have the power to erode the river bed
  • As confluences/tributaries join, discharge increases
  • River gains power and can now erose the river bed to a flatter gradient
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9
Q

What happens to load quantity and why?

A
  • More load in the river
  • More water due the confluences/tributaries
  • Brings more sediment
  • Has more velocity so has enough energy to pick up more load
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10
Q

What happens to load size? And why?

A
  • Load gets smaller
  • River has more power from more water
  • Attrition can occur
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11
Q

What is Weathering?

A

The breakdown and decay of rock by natural processes

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12
Q

What is Erosion?

A

When water wears away rock and soil

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13
Q

What is Transportation?

A

When a river picks up and carries material

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14
Q

What is Deposition?

A

When the water doesn’t have enough energy to carry it’s load, so ‘drops’ it

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15
Q

What is Mass movement? Why does it happen? What can speed it up?

A
  • The movement of rocks and soil downslope
  • Due to gravity
  • Sped up by weaker rocks and steep slopes
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16
Q

What are the three types of mass movement?

A
  • Soil Creep
  • Sliding
  • Flows
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17
Q

What is Soil Creep?

A

Individual particles of soil move slowly down the slope due to gravity

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18
Q

What is Sliding?

A

The material moves rapidly down the slope in one go

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19
Q

What is Flow?

A

When the soil and rock is mixed with water and flows like a liquid downhill

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20
Q

Name three types of weathering

A
  • Biological
  • Chemical
  • Mechanical
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21
Q

Name 4 types of erosion

A
  • Hydraulic action
  • Abrasion
  • Attrition
  • Solution
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22
Q

What is mechanical weathering also known as?

A

Freeze-thaw weathering

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23
Q

What is chemical weathering also known as?

A

Acid rain

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24
Q

Describe mechanical weathering

A
  • Cracks in rock get filled with water
  • Temperature falls below 0°C and water freezes and expands forcing the crack open
  • Ice melts when temperature returns to above 0°C and runs away
  • Process repeats over time and cracks became wider until the rock breaks up completely
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25
Q

Describe chemical weathering

A
  • Chemicals mix with water and are evaporated
  • Slightly acidic mixture falls as acid rain
  • Dissolves the rock (especially limestone)
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26
Q

Describe biological weathering

A
  • Seeds get into cracks in the rock and grow into trees
  • Roots widen and break off bits of rock
  • Animals burrowing
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27
Q

What is Hydraulic action?

A

The sheer force of the water hitting the river bed and banks, wearing them away

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28
Q

What is Attrition?

A

Load particles collide with eachother, making their edges smooth and rounded, as well as smaller

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29
Q

What is Abrasion?

A

Rocks carried along by the river scrape and wear down the river bed and banks

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30
Q

What is Solution?

A

River water is slightly acidic and can dissolve some rocks and minerals that come into contacts (limestone and chalk are most effected)

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31
Q

Where can you find a V-shaped valley and how is it formed?

A
  • In the upper course
  • River has little discharge so is mostly in contact with river bed and banks (lots of friction) so river moves slowly
  • The water’s energy is used to erode the bed downwards - gravity - so the sides are steep
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32
Q

Where can you find interlocking spurs? How are they formed?

A
  • They are in the upper course
  • Naturally occurring areas of hard rock prevent the river from travelling in a straight line
  • the river is in the uppercourse so doesn’t have the energy to erode through it, so goes around it
33
Q

Explain how Waterfalls are formed

A
  • when a river crosses over a band of hard rock on top of softer rock, the softer rock is eroded quicker by abrasion and hydraulic action
  • An overhang is created by the the recession of the back wall where the ledge has been undercut; a plunge pool forms as the bottom of the ledge
  • The water’s weight becomes too heavy for the harder rock & gravity, so it breaks off in large angular rocks and collapses; there is lots of attrition and abraison on the fallen rocks and the hydraulic action from the water’s force
  • Over time the process repeats and the waterfall retreats backwards/upstream - a steep sided gorge is formed
34
Q

In the middle course what direction of erosion is dominant? Why?

A
  • More lateral (side-to-side) erosion

* Due to flatter land

35
Q

List features of the outside of a bend in the middle course

A
  • Faster moving water
  • More erosion
  • River cliff formed
  • Deeper water
36
Q

List the features of the inside of a bend in the middle course

A
  • Slower moving water
  • More deposition
  • Slip-off slope or river beach formed
  • Shallow water
37
Q

Describe the formation of an Oxbow Lake

A
  • Meander bends become very very large
  • The inside bends on the meander become very close together - the ‘neck’ thins
  • During a time of flood or increased discharge, the river can cut through the gap and former a straighter channel
  • Over time the river will deposit thin load called ‘Alluvium’ that cuts off the bend
  • It forms a body of water that looks much like a bullring, or ‘Oxbow’
38
Q

List some features of the lower course

A
  • Flattest part of the river
  • Channel is wide and deep
  • Faster flow due to less friction
  • Load is small
39
Q

What is a floodplain?

A

The area of flat land either side of a river in the lower course

40
Q

What is a Leeve?

A

A natural embankment of sediment formed by depositon along the banks of the river

41
Q

What are the 4 types of transportation?

A
  • Traction
  • Saltation
  • Suspension
  • Solution
42
Q

What is Traction?

A

Bigger heavier rocks roll along the river bed

43
Q

What is Saltation?

A

Smaller rocks bounce across the river bed

44
Q

What is Suspension?

A

Light materials are suspended and can float in the water and be carried downstream

45
Q

What is Solution?

A

Particles are dissolved and carried downstream

46
Q

What is Lag Time?

A

The difference between peak rain fall and peak discharge - the a mouth of time the water takes to travel to the river, this will be greater in permeable surfaces and less of impermeable surfaces

47
Q

What is an impermeable surface?

A

A surface that does not let water ‘permeate’ it - runs over it without absorption - e.g. concrete

48
Q

What is a permeable surface?

A

A surface that does absorb water - e.g. soil

49
Q

CASE STUDY: Floods - Boscastle) 1) When were they?

A

Mid-August, 2004

50
Q

CASE STUDY: Floods - Boscastle) 2) List two facts about the floods

A
  • It had had 5 great floods earlier

* 2 million tonnes of water flowed through Boscastle in 1 day

51
Q

CASE STUDY: Floods - Boscastle) 3) List a few causes of the flooding

A
  • Boscastle is at the confluence of 3 rivers
  • 200mm of rain fell in 1 day
  • The ground was saturated from previous rainfall
  • It has lots of impermeable rock
52
Q

CASE STUDY: Floods - Boscastle) 4) List a few effects of the flooding

A
  • Loss of income from tourism
  • Loss of habitat
  • Loss of businesses and communications
  • Tress uprooted
  • Cars/vans/caravans washed into the sea
  • Buildings flooded and destroyed
  • Debris widely scattered
53
Q

CASE STUDY: Floods - Boscastle) 3) List a few responses to the flooding

A
  • Drainage improved
  • Cars removed from habour
  • Car parks raised
  • Buildings searched
  • Water gauging stations installed
54
Q

What is Hard Engineering?

A

Controlling floods by building defences out of concrete

55
Q

What is Soft Engineering?

A

Using more natural approaches to managing floodwater

56
Q

What type of Engineering technique is Embankments?

A

Hard Engineering

57
Q

What type of Engineering technique is Channelisation?

A

Hard Engineering

58
Q

What type of Engineering technique is Flood Relief Channels?

A

Hard Engineering

59
Q

What type of Engineering technique are Dams and Reservoirs?

A

Hard Engineering

60
Q

What type of Engineering technique is Washlands?

A

Soft Engineering

61
Q

What type of Engineering technique is River Restoration?

A

Soft Engineering

62
Q

What type of Engineering technique is Floodplain Zoning?

A

Soft Engineering

63
Q

What type of Engineering technique is Afforestation?

A

Soft Engineering

64
Q

What is Embankment?

A

High built banks on or near the river bed

65
Q

What is Channelisation?

A

Deepening and/or straightening the river channel

66
Q

What are Flood Relief Channels?

A

Extra channels built to redirect water away from the river

67
Q

What are Dams and Reservoirs?

A

Barriers that hold back water in artificial lakes

68
Q

What are Washlands?

A

When areas on the floodplain are allowed to be flooded

69
Q

What is River Restoration?

A

Letting the river flow it’s original course - restoring meanders, remove man made embankments

70
Q

What is Flood-plain Zoning?

A

Government allocate areas according to flood risk (controlling the land use)

71
Q

What is Afforestation?

A

Planting more trees to absorb excess water

72
Q

Evaluate the use of Embankments

A

+ Stop water from spreading into areas where it could cause problems, i. e. Housing
+ Can be made out of earth and grass so blend in with environment
- Floodwater can overflow and be trapped behind them
- Can burst under pressure, causing damage

73
Q

Evaluate the use of Channelisation

A

+ Allows more water to run through the channel and more quickly taking it away from places of risk

  • Water is taken downstream so can put other places at risk
  • It looks unnatural
74
Q

Evaluate the use of Flood Relief Channels

A

+ Can accommodate high flows so it will not overflow banks

  • Can be unsightly
  • Not always needed
  • Very expensive
75
Q

Evaluate the use of Dams and Reservoirs

A 
\+ Long lasting
\+ Can produce Hydroelectric power
\+ Provide local water supply
\+ Can be used for Water sports
- Expensive 
- Force people to leave their homes
- Ruin the environment 
- Growth of Algae
76
Q

Evaluate the use of Washlands

A 
\+ Safe place for floodwater to go 
\+ Slows floodwater down
\+ Improves natural sedimentation process
\+ Soil structure improved 
- Limits land use
77
Q

Evaluate the use of River Restoration

A 
\+ Natural course
\+ Slows rivers down
\+ More attractive 
\+ Provides more natural habitats
- Some flood banks still required, e.g. floodplain retention
- changes in land use
78
Q

Evaluate the use of Flood-plain zoning

A

+ Prevents building houses and businesses on high risk zones
+ Open space and leisure/recreation on floodplains - less costly to restore
- not best fitted for land use type
- Floodplains are attractive places to build

79
Q

Evaluate the use of Afforestaion

A

+ Water takes longer the reach the channel
+ Low costs
+ enhances environmental quality
- If conifers planted, it will make the soil more acidic
- Prevents the land being used for other things

GCSE Geography Questions (10 decks)

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