Rivers Flashcards
Abrasion
Sediment in the water scraping or wearing away the river bed and banks.
Alluvium
All sediment, sand and pebbles in a river.
Attrition
The process of sediment bouncing off one another in the river. They become smoother, smaller and rounder.
Aquifer
An aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater. Groundwater seeps through the soil from precipitation.
Confluence
The point where two streams join together.
Course
The entire length of a river.
Cross profile
Show you the inside of the rivers channel or valley, at certain points in the river’s course.
Bedrock
The hard, solid rock beneath the surface materials such as soil and gravel.
Deposition
The process of dropping sediment along the river.
Discharge
The amount of water in the river at any given time.
Drainage Basin
An area of land drained by one river and all its tributaries. Also shows how water moves through the system in the water cycle.
Estruary
A place where a river meets the sea.
Evaporation
The process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapour.
Flood plain
Area of open flat land either side of a river in the mid to lower course.
Gorge
When a waterfall retreats it leaves behind steep cliffs / valley sides known as a gorge.
Gradient
The elevation or increase of land height.
Groundwater
Water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.
Hydraulic action
The process of water being forced into small gaps and air pockets along a river bed and banks meaning it breaks and chips away.
Hydrological cycle (water cycle )
Water moving from the land and ocean surface to the atmosphere and back in the form of precipitation.
Hydrograph
Graphs that show how a drainage basin responds to a period of rainfall. How much/little water is in the channel.
Impermeable
Not allowing fluid to pass through.
Interception
Trees and plants catch / block water from reaching the ground / river.
Interlocking spurs
Bands of hard rock that jut outwards alternatively causing the river to weave around the projections.
Lag time
The amount of time between each peak precipitation and peak discharge on a hydrograph.
Lateral erosion
Erosion on the sides of river banks.
Levee
Natural raised banks at the side of the river.
Load/bedload
The amount of material carried in / at the bottom of the river.
Long profile
Shows changes in the height of the course of a river from its source to its mouth. The slope becomes more gentle towards the mouth of the river.
Mouth
The point where the river meets the sea.
Mudflats
Also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers.
Percolation
The movement of water through the soil.
Permeable
Allows water to pass through.
Plunge pool
A deep area in a stream bed at the base of a waterfall. It is created by the erosional forces of cascading water on the rocks at the base where the water impacts.
Porous rock
Porous rock contains empty space in which fluids, such as compressed air, can be stored.
Reservoir
A large natural or artificial lake which forms behind a dam used as a source of water supply.
Riffles and pools
Pool and riffle, deep and shallow portions of an undulating stream bed. This moment means the stream begins to meander.
River cliff
The lateral erosion on the outside bend causes undercutting of the bank to form a river cliff.
Saltation
The process of material being bounced along the river bed as it is too heavy to be carried in suspension.
Slip off slope (River beach)
A slip off slope is a depositional landform that occurs on the inside bank of a meandering river.
Solution
Minerals are dissolved in the water and carried along in solution.
Source
Where the river starts its journey and is usually found in the hills or mountains.
Surface run off
Also known as overland flow. Process of water pouring off a surface or trickling down a hill into a river.
Suspension
Fine light material is carried along in the water.
Thalweg
An imaginary line drawn to join the deepest points along a river so marks the fastest flow in the river.
Traction
Heavier rocks rolled along the river bed.
Transpiration
Evaporation directly from plants and trees.
Tributary
A small stream which joins the main river channel.
Velocity
The speed of the water in the river.
Vertical erosion
The process of wearing away the river bed downwards.
V-shaped Valley
As the river erodes vertically down over it leaves behind valley sides that are shaped like the letter V.
Watershed
A river basin or drainage basin is an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. The edge of the drainage basin is known as the watershed.
