Physical landscapes (Incl. Rivers) Flashcards
What is interception?
The process of storing water, possibly through vegetation.
What is infiltration?
When vegetation catches water and stores it.
What is percolation?
When water flows from the soil moisture to the ground water.
What is surface runoff?
The flow of water as water travels from surface to river.
What is throughflow?
The flow of water from soil to river.
What is groundwater flow?
Water that travels through the ground back to the river.
How was the UK landscape been created?
It has been created over millions of years by the action of water, wind and ice through the processes of erosion, transportation and deposition.
What is the pattern relating relief of land and population?
+ Give examples of places and include numbers.
- Areas that have a low relief (e.g. Manchester, London) are more densely populated with over 250 people per square kilometre.
- However, places with a higher relief (e.g north Scotland) are much less densely populated with under 50 people per square kilometre.
How do high UK landscapes affect peoples’ lifestyles?
The high ground nay cause surplus in supplies such as water, but also may have limited access to things like food as it is more difficult to transport / find somewhere to sell it.
What advantages and disadvantages might low landcapes like London have?
- They might have an advantage in areas such as transport as its easier to build roads on flat land.
- But, water may be more difficult to obtain as extensive water transfer schemes have to be used which can easily go wrong.
What is a drainage basin?
The land that is drained by a river and its tributaries. It contains different flows of water, including input and output.
Define the source.
Where a river starts, usually in the mountains.
Define the mouth.
Where a river ends, at a lake or the sea.
Define tributary.
A smaller river that joins a larger one.
Define confluence.
The point at which rivers meet.
Define watershed.
The highland separating one river basin from another.
Define drainage basin.
The land that is drained by a river and its tributaries.
Define input.
The addition of water into a drainage basin.
Define flows / transfers.
The process by which water moves from one point to another.
Define storage.
Where water is held for a period of time.
Define output.
The loss of water from the drainage basin.
What does the long profile of a river show?
The long profile shows how a river’s height above sea level changes from its source to its mouth. it is plotted as a line graph.
What happens in the upper course of a river?
The river starts high above sea level. The gradient is very steep and the height quickly drops.
What happens in the middle course of a river?
The gradient is gentler and the height drops more slowly.
What happens in the lower course of a river?
The gradient is at its gentlest and the height of the river above sea level drops at its slowest reaching sea level at the mouth.
What is a valley profile?
A cross section view across the whole river valley from one side to the other. The river channel itself sits in the bottom of the valley.
What happens to the cross profile in the upper course?
In the upper course, the cross profile is narrow. The valley is relatively deep. It is V shaped with steep valley sides. The river occupies the whole valley floor.
What happens to the cross profile in the middle course?
In the middle course, the cross profile is wider and the river no longer occupies the whole valley floor. It meanders around in the flatter valley bottom. The valley is less deep and the valley sides are less steep and further from the river. the valley is more U shaped.
What happens to the cross profile in the lower course?
In the lower course, the valley is a its widest with a low lying valley floor. The valley sides are a long way from the river channel and are much gentler. The valley is a very broad U shape.
Which part of the river does the most erosion usually occur?
The upper course.
