Rivers Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

River beginning with S

A

Severn

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

River beginning with Th

A

Thames

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

River beginning with Tr

A

Trent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

River beginning with O

A

Ouse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

River beginning with W

A

Wye

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

River beginning with E

A

Exe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

River beginning with Te

A

Tees

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

River beginning with Ta

A

Tay

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

River beginning with C

A

Clyde

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

River beginning with S

A

Spey

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Lowland area in Somerset

A

The Somerset Levels

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Lowland area beginning with f

A

The Fens

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Lowland area in Yorkshire

A

The Vale of York

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Upland areas in the lakes

A

Lake District

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Upland area in wales

A

Snowdonia

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Upland area (local)

A

Pennines

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Upland area in south Scotland

A

Southern uplands

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Upland areas in north Scotland

A

North West Highlands

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Upland area beginning with c

A

Cairngorms

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Landforms of the upper course

A

Gorges, waterfalls, v-shaped valleys

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Landforms of the middle course

A

meanders, oxbow lakes, floodplains

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Landforms of the lower course

A

meanders, large floodplains

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Word beginning with ‘f’ that means river processes

A

Fluvial processes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

The breakdown and removal of a material (rock) by an agent (the river)

A

Erosion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

Erosion downwards

A

Vertical erosion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

Erosion horizontally

A

Lateral erosion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What is hydraulic action and when is it most effective?

A

The force of water hitting river beds/banks forces air into cracks, the air is put under pressure forcing the cracks to expand and the rock to eventually break up. Most effective when the water is moving fast and there is a lot of it.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Attrition?

A

Where stones carried by the river knock against each other, eventually making the stones smaller, smoother and more round

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

Abrasion (think sandpaper)

A

When the load carried by the river hits/scrapes against the bed or banks and dislodges particles into the floor of the river.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

Transportation

A

The displacement of material in the river, the river load- there are 4 methods a river does this

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

Traction

A

Large pebbles/ boulders are pushed or dragged along the river bed by the force of the water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

Suspension

A

Small particles like silt and clay are carried and held in the water column

33
Q

Saltation

A

Small stones, pebbles and silt are bounced along the river bed by the force of the water

34
Q

Solution

A

Soluble materials such as salts dissolve in the water and are carried along

35
Q

Deposition

A

Deposition occurs when the velocity decreases so it no longer has enough energy to transport its sediment so it is deposited.

36
Q

1/4 reasons for deposition (volume)

A

The volume of water in a river falling

37
Q

2/4 reasons for deposition (erosion)

A

The quantity of eroded material in the water increasing

38
Q

3/4 reasons for deposition (shallow)

A

The water becoming shallower such as on the inside of a meander bend

39
Q

4/4 reasons for deposition (confluence)

A

The river reaching its mouth or a confluence with another river

40
Q

deposition (upper course)

A

Larger rocks tend to be deposited in the upper course, they are only transported short distances by traction in times of high flow.

41
Q

deposition (middle-lower course)

A

Finer sediment is carried further downstream, mostly via suspension. It is deposited on the river banks or beds where river velocity is slowed by traction

42
Q

deposition (mouth)

A

A large amount of deposition occurs at the mouth, the velocity is slowed by the interaction with seawater and a very gentle gradient.

43
Q

Word beginning with ‘f’ occurring at a river’s mouth

A

Flocculation is the reaction of clay particles and sea water that causes the clay to clump up, become heavier and sink which results in their deposition

44
Q

Transpiration

A

Loss of water from vegetation

45
Q

Evaporation

A

Process by which liquid is converted into vapour by heating

46
Q

Precipitation

A

All forms of water that falls from the sky

47
Q

Evapotranspiration

A

Amount of moisture removed by evaporation and transpiration from a land surface

48
Q

Percolation

A

Downward vertical movement of water within rock, rate depends on the size of the pores through which the water travels

49
Q

Groundwater storage

A

Water that is stored beneath the earth’s surface in permeable rock and soil, e.g. an aquifer

50
Q

Infiltration

A

Passage of water into the surface layers of soil by gravity and capillary action. Decreases as soil becomes more saturated.

51
Q

Groundwater flow

A

Water that moves downslope through groundwater storage, often emerging as a spring at the side of the valley

52
Q

Surface runoff

A

Outcome of rainfall intensity on a slope being greater than the rate at which the water can infiltrate into the soil.

53
Q

Interception

A

Precipitation that is prevented from falling directly onto the soil surface by a layer of vegetation

54
Q

Water table

A

If permeable rocks exist under the soil they get saturated with water, this is the name given to the upper boundary of this saturated area

55
Q

Surface storage

A

Store of water that forms on the surface of the ground, like lakes/puddles/ponds and is often due to high rainfall

56
Q

River Discharge

A

Volume of water in a river passing a measuring point at a given time, calculated by multiplying velocity of the river by the cross-sectional area

57
Q

Unit of river discharge

A

cubic meters per second or cumecs

58
Q

Name for the point at which a river starts

A

Source

59
Q

Name for the point at which a river meets the sea

A

Mouth

60
Q

Name for a small stream flowing into a river

A

A tributary

61
Q

Name for the point at which a tributary meets the river

A

A confluence

62
Q

Name for the line around an area where if a raindrop falls it will end up in this river

A

Water shed

63
Q

Name for area inside a water shed

A

catchment/ drainage basin

64
Q

Interlocking spurs

A

Projections of high land that alternate from either side of the valley

65
Q

Igneous rock

A

Hard rock formed from magma

66
Q

Examples of soft rock

A

Limestone/ sedimentary rock

67
Q

Name for erosion behind a waterfall

A

undercutting

68
Q

Name for area where a water goes after its fallen off a waterfall

A

Plunge pool

69
Q

Helicoidal flow

A

Corkscrew flow of water due to disturbance in the river bed which is why water flows faster on the outside of a bend

70
Q

Oxbow lake

A

Lake formed from a flooded meander that took a shortcut

71
Q

Bits of land either side of a floodplain

A

River bluffs

72
Q

Sediment deposited by a river

A

Alluvial sediment

73
Q

Landform left by an evaporated oxbow lake

A

Meander scar

74
Q

Levées

A

Deposited sediment after hundreds of years of flooding that builds up on either side of the river

75
Q

Open mouth of a river where it meets the sea

A

An estuary

76
Q

How does a waterfall form?

A

Igneous hard rock next to sedimentary soft rock, river erodes soft rock vertically creating a step in the river, this forms a waterfall

77
Q

How does a plunge pool form?

A

Plunge pools form due to hydraulic action as the water falling off the step forces air into cracks in the ground below- forming a plunge pool

78
Q

How does a gorge form?

A

Erosion under-cuts the soft rock below the igneous rock until the igneous rock becomes unstable and falls under gravity, leaving behind steep walls either side of where the rock used to be. The waterfall then moves upstream where the process begins again and over hundreds and thousands of years a gorge forms