Rivers

Question 1

What landforms do you find in the upper course of a river?

Answer 1

V-shaped valleys
Interlocking spurs
Waterfall
Gorge

Question 2

What landforms do you find in the middle course of a river?

Answer 2

Oxbow lakes
Meanders

Question 3

What landforms do you find in the lower course of a river?

Answer 3

Floodplain
Levées
Meanders

Question 4

In what section of the river are you more likely to find lateral erosion?

Answer 4

Middle + Lower

Question 5

In what section of the river are you more likely to find large boulders?

Answer 5

Upper

Question 6

In what section of the river are you more likely to get deposition taking place?

Answer 6

Lower

Question 7

How does the cross profile change downstream?

Answer 7

Channel gets deeper and wider
Valley becomes flatter

Question 8

Define drainage basin

Answer 8

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

Question 9

Define source

Answer 9

Where a river begins

Question 10

Define Tributary

Answer 10

A small river or stream that joins the larger river

Question 11

Define mouth

Answer 11

The end of the river
Where it meets the sea or a lake

Question 12

Define confluence

Answer 12

Where two rivers meet and join to form one larger river

Question 13

How many sections does a river have?
Name them

Answer 13

3
Upper
Middle
Lower

Question 14

What does a long profile show?

Answer 14

The gradient of a river as it journeys from source to mouth
(how steep it is)

Question 15

What does a cross profile show?

Answer 15

A cross section of a river’s channel AND valley as it journeys from source to mouth

Question 16

Describe the long profile in the upper course of a river

Answer 16

Very steep

Question 17

Describe the long profile in the middle course of a river

Answer 17

Becomes flatter

Question 18

Describe the long profile in the lower course of a river

Answer 18

Almost flat
Flattest

Question 19

Describe the cross profile in the upper course of a river

Answer 19

Narrow
Shallow
V-shaped valleys

Question 20

Describe the cross profile in the middle course of a river

Answer 20

Wider
Deeper
U-shaped valleys

Question 21

Describe the cross profile in the lower course of a river

Answer 21

Widest
Deepest
U-shaped valleys
Floodplain has increased in size

Question 22

Define erosion

Answer 22

The breakdown and removal of sediment

Question 23

Define vertical and lateral erosion

Answer 23

Vertical - downwards erosion
Lateral - sideways erosion

Question 24

Name three landforms formed by erosion

Answer 24

Interlocking spurs
Waterfalls
Gorges

Question 25

What is the main type of erosion in the upper course?

Answer 25

Vertical erosion

Question 26

What is the main type of erosion in the middle course?

Answer 26

Lateral

Question 27

What is the main type of erosion in the lower course?

Answer 27

Lateral
However, deposition is more dominant

Question 28

What causes interlocking spurs?

Answer 28

River flowing around areas of hard rock, finding the easiest route

Question 29

What are interlocking spurs?

Answer 29

Areas of land which link together but are divided by the river between them

Question 30

Explain the processes involved in the formation of a gorge

Answer 30

Less resistant rock is eroded quicker than more resistant rock and this creates a step
As erosion continues, the more resistant rock is undercut which forms an overhang
Abrasion and hydraulic action create a plunge pool
The overhang will continue to be undercut and will eventually fall causing this process to be repeated as the waterfall retreats upstream
A steep sided valley is left where the waterfall was. This is called a gorge

Question 31

What two types of erosion create a plunge pool?

Answer 31

Hydraulic Action
Abrasion

Question 32

What is formed from undercutting?

Answer 32

An overhang

Question 33

Which type of rock erodes quicker?

Answer 33

Soft Rock (less resistant)

Question 34

Define meander

Answer 34

A bend in the river

Question 35

Where is the more energy on a meander?

Answer 35

Outside

Question 36

Describe the inside of a meander (including landform)

Answer 36

Slower flow
(Friction greater)
Less energy
Deposition
Slip-off slope

Question 37

Describe the outside of a meander (including landform)

Answer 37

Faster flow
More energy
Erosion
River Cliff

Question 38

Where is a river cliff formed on a meander?

Answer 38

Outside

Question 39

Where is a slip-off slope formed on a meander?

Answer 39

Inside

Question 40

What causes meanders to move and change shape?

Answer 40

A combination of lateral erosion and deposition

Question 41

Define oxbow lake

Answer 41

A U-shaped lake that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off

Question 42

How is an oxbow lake formed?

Answer 42

Erosion can cause both sides of a meander to migrate towards each other
The neck becomes narrower and eventually the river breaks through
This forms a straighter channel and an oxbow lake

Question 43

Define Levée

Answer 43

An elevated bank along a river’s edge

Question 44

How does a Levée form?

Answer 44

When repeated flooding leads to deposition
The heaviest sediment is deposited first
And as the river loses energy, finer sediment (alluvium) is deposited further from the river

Question 45

Define floodplain

Answer 45

A wide, flat area of land on either side of a river that is often subject to flooding
They are composed of alluvium left by deposition during floods

Question 46

Define estuary

Answer 46

A wide, sheltered body of water found at a river’s mouth where is broadens into the sea.
It’s a mixture of freshwater from the river and saltwater from the sea