Paper 1: River processes

Question 1

tributery

Answer 1

small river that flows into a main river

Question 2

vertical erosion

Answer 2

-downwards erosion of the river bed

Question 3

drainage basin

Answer 3

land drained by a river and its tributaries

Question 4

river channel

Answer 4

slot of land that a river flow in

Question 5

confluence

Answer 5

place where 2 rivers meet

Question 6

load

Answer 6

material carried by river

Question 7

lateral erosion

Answer 7

sideways erosion of river

Question 8

watershed

Answer 8

high land around edge of river basin

Question 9

source

Answer 9

start of river

Question 10

mouth

Answer 10

end of river

Question 11

long profile

Answer 11

journey river makes to sea

Question 12

upper course long profile

Answer 12

-high
-steep
concave shaped

Question 13

middle course long profile

Answer 13

-flatter relief
-gentle lope

Question 14

lower course long profile

Answer 14

-below/very close to sea level
-flat

Question 15

erosion

Answer 15

-wearing away of river bed/banks
-breaking rocks carried by river

Question 16

transport

Answer 16

-movement of material along river course

Question 17

deposition

Answer 17

-dropping of river load when river lacks energy to transport it

Question 18

cross profile

Answer 18

-taken sideways across river channel/valley

Question 19

channel cross-profile

Answer 19

-includes river only

Question 20

valley cross profile

Answer 20

-includes channel
-valley floor
-slopes at the sides of valley

Question 21

velocity

Answer 21

speed of river flow

Question 22

discharge

Answer 22

-volume of water passing through a given point on a river
-cumecs

Question 23

river channel cross section - upper

Answer 23

narrow channel
-shallow
-little discharge

Question 24

river channel cross section - lower

Answer 24

-becomes deeper
-wider
-more discharge

Question 25

what happens to velocity downstream

Answer 25

-increases
-as discharge increases

Question 26

velocity upstream

Answer 26

-low
-little water in river crashes against rocks
-lots of friction
slows speed

Question 27

bedload size of upper course

Answer 27

-large boulders

Question 28

valley of upper course

Answer 28

-steep
-v-shaped

Question 29

valley of lower course

Answer 29

-u -shaped
-wider

Question 30

scree

Answer 30

deposited material from valley in channel

Question 31

v shaped valley

Answer 31

-wide at the top
-narrower towards base
-

Question 32

interlocking spurs

Answer 32

-ridges of hard rock that project on alternate sides of river valley where river flows
-only in upper course

Question 33

why do interlocking spurs only exist in the upper course

Answer 33

-rock is hard
-slow to erode as less energy of river

Question 34

erosion in upper course

Answer 34

-vertical erosion
-little energy so it is focused here

Question 35

why do v shaped valleys occur

Answer 35

-freeze-thaw weathering occurs on upper sides of valley
-widens top of valley but base is narrow

Question 36

freeze-thaw weathering

Answer 36

-water gets into cracks of rock
-freeze at night = expands crack
-melt during the day
-shatter rock