River landscapes Flashcards
Source
the point at which the river starts.
Interlocking spurs
where the river winds between ridges.
Gorge
deep valley caused by wearing back of a waterfall.
Waterfall
often where the river crosses a band of harder rock.
‘V’ shaped valley
produced in upper course because the river cuts down more quickly than the surrounding slopes are eroded.
Meander
the river starts to erode from side to side.
River cliff
the river moves faster on the outside of the bend and cuts into the valley side. The erosion undercuts the ground causing it to collapse, leaving a cliff.
River beach
(Slip-off slope): the river moves more slowly on the inside of the bend. It cannot carry the larger pebbles and these are dropped here.
Ox-bow lake
during floods the river cuts through the neck of a large meander. The outside bend is left as a shallow lake.
Flood plain
the river is flowing in a very wide, flat valley. When it floods, it spreads over the flood plain.
Levée
during floods the overflowing river is slowed as it leaves its bed. Silt is deposited along the banks first. Over the years the deposits build up into high ridges
Estuary
the open mouth of the river, where it meets the sea.
Corrasion
Wearing away of the river bed and banks by the load hitting against them.
Attrition
Wearing down of the load as the rocks and pebbles hit the river bed and each other.
Hydraulic Action
Breaking away of river bed and banks by the sheer force of the water getting into small cracks
