River Landforms Flashcards
What do upper course features include
Steep v-shaped valleys
What do middle course features include?
Wider, shallower valleys, meanders and ox-bow lakes
What do lower course features include?
Wide flat-bottomed valleys, flood plains and deltas
What happens to the river as it moves through the upper course?
It cuts downwards
What is the gradient like as it moves through the upper course?
Steep and the river channel is narrow
What does vertical erosion in this highland part of the river help create?
(The upper course)
Steep-sided v-shaped valleys, interlocking Spurs, rapids, waterfalls and gorges
As the river erode the landscape in the upper course what does it do to avoid the areas of hard rock?
Wind and bend
If the river in the upper course winds and bends what does it create.
Interlocking spurs which look a bit like the interlocking parts of a zip
What happens in the upper course if a river runs over alternating layers of hard and soft rock?
Rapids and waterfalls may form
What does the middle course have?
More energy and a high volume of water
What is the gradient like in the middle course?
Gentle and lateral (sideways) eriosion has widened the river channel
What has the river channel also done in the middle course?
Depend
What does a larger river channel mean in the middle course?
There is less friction so the water flows faster
What does the river have in the lower course?
A high volume and a large discharge
What is the river channel like now in the lower course?
Deep and wide and the landscape around it is flat
