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My Geography > PHYSICAL - Water on the Land > Flashcards

PHYSICAL - Water on the Land Flashcards

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1
Q

Drainage basin

A

The area of land drained by a river

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2
Q

Source

A

The beginning/start of a river

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3
Q

Tributary

A

A stream/smaller river which joints a larger stream/river

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4
Q

Watershed

A

The area around a drainage basin, it marks the boundary between 2 drainage basins

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5
Q

Confluence

A

The point at which 2 rivers meet

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6
Q

Mouth

A

Th point at which the river ends, usually going into the sea

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7
Q

River

A

A river is a flow of water flowing across the surface of the land, usually to the sea. It flows in a channel and the bottom of the channel is called the bed and the sides are called the banks

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8
Q

Traits of the upper course river channel?

A
  • Large boulders
  • Slowest velocity
  • Steep gradient
  • V shaped valley
  • river erodes vertically
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9
Q

Traits of the lower course of the river channel?

A
  • Rocks and smooth and there are fine sand materials
  • Meanders
  • Fastest velocity
  • River is the widest
  • Gradient is lowered
  • U shaped valley
  • River erodes laterally
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10
Q

Diagram of the river channel in its 3 stages?

A
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11
Q

The long profile is?

A

The sidewards view of the river course

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12
Q

The cross profile is?

A

The river channel itself

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13
Q

Name the 4 types of erosion?

A
  • Hydraulic action
  • Attrition
  • Absrasion
  • Soltuion
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14
Q

Hydraulic Action

A

The force of the water against the banks, the pressure weakens the banks and gradually wears it away

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15
Q

Abrasion

A

Rocks carried along the river wear down the bed and banks

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16
Q

Attrition

A

Rocks being carried by the river smash together and break into smaller, smoother, rounder particles

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17
Q

Solution

A

When river flow over certain types of soluble rock eg limestone, these become part of the water and their dissolved by it

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18
Q

Name the processes of transportation?

A
  • Traction
  • Saltation
  • Suspension
  • Solution
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19
Q

Traction

A

Heavy rocks and boulders and rolled along the river bed. Happens most in times of flood, when the current is the strongest

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20
Q

Saltation

A

Small stones and pebbloed are ‘bounced’ along the river bed. This can take place when the river flow is less that needed for traction to take place

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21
Q

Suspension

A

Vey small particles of sand/clay that are ‘suspended’ in the water

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22
Q

Solution

A

Takes place with material in the water which is now invisible and doesnt colour the waters, occurs often in limestone landscapes where the water is acidic

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23
Q

When does the river drop its load?

A
  • When theres a fall in the speed of the water
  • When the amount of warer is less
  • When the gradient changes and near the mouth as it enders the sea
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24
Q

Waterfall

A

A steep vertical drop of a river along its course

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25
Q

Give an example of hard and soft rock

A

Hard rock = winestone, granite

Soft rock = limestone

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26
Q

Describe the formation of a waterfall

A
  • Water flows over less resistant rock and therefore eroded more quickly than the harder, more resistant rock and is undercut by abrasion, hydraulic action and solution
  • Eventually the unsupported overhang collapses due to gravity.
  • Some of the debris us swirles around by the river, eroding into smaller pieces bt attrition.
  • The swirling rock also forms a deep plunge pool by abrasion
  • The process will be repeated, cuasing the river to retreat upstream, levaing a steep sided gorge
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27
Q

The diagram for the formation of a waterfall?

A
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28
Q

Gorge

A

A narrow, steep sided valley

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29
Q

Meander

A

A bend/curve in the river channel

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30
Q

Formation of a meander?

A
  • As a river flows downstream over flatter land, (whilst still eroding vertically) more lateral/sideways erosion becomes significant resulting in a meander
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31
Q

Formation of an Oxbow Lake?

A
  • Continued erosion on the outer bends of a meander results in the neck becoming narrower
  • Eventually the neck will be cut throguht (often during floods) creating a straight channel
  • Depostion along the banks where the current is slowist will seal off the old meander to form an Oxbox Lake
  • Gradually these lakes dry up leaving a meander scar
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32
Q

Picture formation of an oxbow lake

A

33
Q

Give 2 examples of landforms created by depostion?

A

Floodplains and leveés

34
Q

The picture formation of floodplain and leveés?

A
35
Q

Formation of a floodplain

A

36
Q

The Hydraudrical cycle

A

An closed system where no water is ever added or lost

Water is constantly moving aorund the cycle and the amount of water stays the same

37
Q

Discharge

A

The volume of water which flows through the river at a given time

38
Q

FACTORS AFFECTING DISCHARGE: Percipitation

A
  • Less rainfall results in lower river levels
  • A lot of rain causes high river levels
  • High amounts of rain saturates the soil and underlaying rok, were as drizzle there is time for the water to infiltrate the soil and rocks, freeing up space for more water
39
Q

FACTORS AFFECTING DISCHARGE: Relief

A
  • Steep s;p[es encourage fast runoff
  • Gentle slows allow time for infiltration to occur

Relief affects the rate at which the water runs off the land surface and into rivers

40
Q

FACTORS AFFECTING DISCHARGE: Land Use

A
  • The effect of people
  • Deforestation, Urbanisation
  • Concrete all over cities, water does infiltrate so it stays on the surface (eg LA always floods when it rains)
  • If trees are removes, water gets to the river fastes and trees dont intercept water from the ground
41
Q

FACTORS AFFECTING DISCHARGE: Rock type

A

Determines how the water infiltrtrates and how much stays on the surface

  • Granite = impermeable
  • Chalk = porous
  • Limestone = pervious
42
Q

FACTORS AFFECTING DISCHARGE: Temperature

A

Affects the loss of water from the drainage basin

  • Higher temperature = greater warer loss (via evaportion and transpiration)
43
Q

FACTORS AFFECTING DISCHARGE: Previous Weather Conditions

A

If it has been dry it willl take longer for the water to reach the river and less amount of time than if there had been many wet days

44
Q

Lag time

A

The time between the peakr rainfall and the peak discharge

45
Q

Base flow

A

Normal conditions of a river

46
Q

Flashy

A

A hydroraoh that responds quickly to a period of rain

47
Q

Subdued

A

Flood events that occur at a slower pace

48
Q

Rising Limb

A

How quickly the river reaches its peak discharge

49
Q

Falling Limb

A

How quickly the river reaches its base level

50
Q

Peak Rainfall

A

The highest level of rainfall

51
Q

Storm Hydrograph

A

A special type of graph which show river discharge over a given time in response to a rainfall event

52
Q

FLOODING: Prolounged Rain?

A

Long continuous periods of rainfall, leading to saturated ground

53
Q

FLOODING: Heavy Rain?

A

A cloudburst in a thunderstorm, which causes larg amounts of run-off in a short time eg Boscastle

54
Q

FLOODING: Snowmelt

A

A sudden increase in temperature that rapidly melts snow and ice. In winter water cannot seep into the ground because it is frozen

55
Q

FLOODING: Building on floodplains

A

Building on floodplains and impermeable surfaces so then more water runs off the surface (and faster). Rainwater falling on hard surfaces (building on roads) is led rapidly into underground drains and straight into rivers, with little chance of evaporation into the atmosphere or infiltration into the ground

56
Q

FLOODING: Deforistation

A

This reduces interception by the trees and rates of transpiration back into the atmosphere. More rainwater reaches the surface quicker, thereby increading rates of run-off

57
Q

Examples of major flooding events?

A
58
Q

MEDC flood: Boscastle - Causes?

A
  • **The Weather **- 70mm of rain fell in 1 hour between 11am and 6pm 133mm feel (double the monthy rate)
  • **Steep Sided Valleys - **Faster surface run-off in the Jordan and Valency rivers
  • Clay rich soils - Kepp more water out so there is more surface run off
  • **Saturated ground and heavy rainfall - **Water cant infiltrate if the saturation level is reached, moves at great speed and has tremendous momentum
59
Q

MEDC flood: Boscastle - Primary effects?

A
  • ** **155 cars were swept by the water
  • 60 people injured
  • Buildings destroyed
  • 58 properties were flooded, 6 destroyed outright
  • 4 bridges collapsed
  • Possesions lossed
60
Q

MEDC flood: Boscastle - Secondary effects?

A

Happen as a result of primary effects

  • Tourism decreased
  • Loss of business (restaurants, bakerys, hotels)
  • Jobs lost
  • Cost of insurances rised
  • People in debt
  • Trauma for people
61
Q

MEDC flood: Boscastle - other information?

A
  • Happened on the 1th August 2004
  • A year later things still werent back to normal
  • Over £200,000 needed to rebuild some bussinesses
  • 3.5” of rain in 1 hour - rainfall occured because moist warm air was travelling quickly upwards
  • Extreme case of the ‘Brown Willy’ effect
  • Some debts werent able to be paid
  • Physical effects such as stress
62
Q

MEDC flood: Boscastle - Primary responses?

A

Occur during or in the days and weeks after

  • 150 people were airlifted to safety
  • 7 helicopters sent to save people
  • Emergency services deployed to Boscastle to help people in the crisis
63
Q

MEDC flood: Boscastle - secondary responses?

A

Months and years after the incident

  • Water and flood supply restored
  • Defences improves/increases

eg escape roots, car parks moved, flood defence systems, deepened river (10ft deeper), tree management scheeme

  • Power system renewed
  • Boscastle rebuilt
  • Bridges rebuilt (higher)
  • Ships and businesses re-opened within 12 months
64
Q

LEDC flood: Bangladesh - causes?

A
  • H:Deforestation
  • H:High population density
  • H:Buildings near Frakka dam
  • P:Country is 1 huge flood plain
  • P:70% of land is 1m above sea level
  • P:10% of land is rivers, lakes and swamps
  • P:Bad previous weather conditions
  • P:Tropical cyclones
65
Q

LEDC flood: Bangladesh - Immidiate effects?

A
  • Floods covered more than half of Bangladesh
  • 760 people were killed
  • 8.5 million people became homeless
  • over 35 million people were effected
  • Rice growing and fishing were disrupted
  • Roads and bridges were destroyed and damaged
66
Q

LEDC flood: Bangladesh - secondary effects?

A
  • Over 1 million children suffered from malnutrition and disease
  • Rebuilding estimates to coast $2-3billion
  • Food supplied needed until the following years harvest
67
Q

River restoration

A

River engineers seek to restore rivers to the ‘natural’ state by taking out previous hard engineering and replacing this with what should have been there in the first place

This involved putting swamps back in, reinstating meanders, encouraging depostion by using ediment traps and wooded groynes in the channel, adding reed beds etc

68
Q

Flood Warnings

A
  • By environment agency over radio, tv, internet
  • Can be direct to home by text for registered users - floodline warnings direct
69
Q

Advantages of flood warnings?

A
  • Gives people more time to prepare by gathering possesions upstairs, turing off gas and electric
  • It reduces the impact
  • Its relitavley cheap
70
Q

Disadvantages of flood warnings?

A
  • Damage potention still remains high
  • Relies on the response of the community
  • Requires accurate and continuos information
  • If several false alarms occur, false fear and later reluctancy when the real situation actually happens may occur
71
Q

SOFT ENGINEERING: Afforestation

A

This occurs when trees are planted near to the river, this means greater interception of rainwater and lower river discharge.

This is a relitivley low cost option which enhances the environmental quality of the drainage basin

72
Q

SOFT ENGINEERING: Flood plain zoning

A

Thi is where the areas closest to the rivers are only used for lost cost uses such as grazing and playing fields

Higher cost land uses are kept away from the river on higher land

73
Q

Hard enginerring

A

(Technology) eg Dams, Leveés

  • Involves building of **artificial **structures using various materials such as rock, concrete and sleet to reduce or stop the impact of river processes
74
Q

Soft engineering

A

eg forestation, flood plain zoning and reed beds

  • Involves managing a river using natural materials and mimicking natural processes to protect more vulnerable areas
75
Q

Hard engineered pros and cons?

A

+ Immediate results

+Control the river and stops floods

+ Lowers insurance costs

  • Expensive
  • May cause future problems and be unsustainable
  • Have to be maintained (costly)
  • False sense of security
  • Environmental damage
76
Q

HARD ENGINEERING: How do dams prevent flooding?

A

Dma block rivers and cause the water carried by rivers to back up ad flood the valley upstream of the dam

eg 3 gorges dam, China

77
Q

HARD ENGINEERING: straightening rivers

A

Straightening meanders - this involves digging a straighter, shorter channel in areas where rivers meaner

**Why? **- Faster flow of water, reaches the mouth faster

**Example? **- the Mississipi river and in York

**Negative effect? - **Can cause flooding further down stream

78
Q

HARD ENGINEERING: Floodwalls

A

These raise the banks of rivers so that it can hold more water, this therefore reduces the rosk of a flood

(It was a failure in floodwalls which causes further damage in New Orleans during Hurrican Katrina)

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