Rivers Flashcards
What cycle is a drainage basin in?
Part of the hydrological cycle in which water is recycled between the sea, atmosphere and the land
What is the drainage basin?
Te area drained by a river and its tributaries
What is the boundary of the drainage basin called?
The watershed
What is the watershed normally?
A higher ridge of land which separates one drainage basin from another
What does the water in a river flow in?
A channel
What is the place where a river begins called?
The source
What is the place where a river ends called?
The mouth
What is a confluence In a river?
The point where 2 rivers meet
What is a tributary?
A smaller branch of a main river
Which 3 main things do rivers do?
Erode the land, transport rock and dissolved sediment, deposit natural material.
What do rivers need to transport and erode material?
Energy
What is a lot of a rivers energy used to do?
Over come friction with the bed and banks
What will a river do if it has too much energy?
Erode the land
What will a river do if it does not have enough energy?
Deposit material
What does a river use to erode its banks and bed?
The material that it transports
What happens as the velocity of the river increases?
the load it can carry increases and as does the rate which it can erode
Where is erosion on a river most effective?
In the upper course as due to weathering and erosion the river has lots of sediment which it uses to erode
What is the rate of erosion in a river effected by?
Load- the amount of material the river carries, velocity, gradient, geology- rock type, ph, human impact.
How does the amount of a load a river carries cause a change in the amount of erosion ?
Heavier and sharper the load = the greater the potential for erosion
How does velocity effect the rate of erosion in a river?
Greater velocity = more erosion
How does the gradient of the land effect the rate of a rivers erosion?
Greater gradient = greater amount of erosion
How does the geology effect the rate at which a river erodes?
Soft rocks are more easily eroded
How does the ph or the river effect the rate at which it erodes?
Solution increases where the water is more acidic
How does human impact effect the rate at which a river erodes?
Deforestation, dams and bridges interfere with the natural flow and frequently end up increasing erosion rates
What are the 4 types of erosion?
Hydraulic action, attrition, abrasion, solution.
How does hydraulic action erosion occur?
The sheer force of the water hitting the beds erodes them overtime
How does abrasion erosion occur?
The load the river is carrying repeatedly hits the bank
How does attrition erosion occur?
Rocks bang against each other
How does solution erosion occur?
When the river flows on certain rocks e.g chalk or limestone, the rock dissolves
What are the 4 types of transportation ?
Saltation, suspension, solution and traction
How does the traction method of transportation occur?
Method used for moving the largest material as the boulders are too heavy to loose contact with the river bed so materials are rolled along
How does the transport method of saltation occur?
Small stones and graves of sand are bounced along the bed
How does the transportation method of suspension occur?
Very fine materials are carried in the water - that move as the river flows
How does the transportation method of solution occur?
The dissolved load - only occurs in certain rock types and is invisible
What is deposition?
When a river drops or leaves behind the load lt has been carrying
When does deposition occur?
Where there is a fall in the velocity (speed) of the river, when there is a drop in the amount I water(volume). This can be when a river enters a lake or the sea or when there is a change in the gradient
What are some features of the upper course of a river?
Steepest slope, vertical erosion(downwards), deposition of large materials, predominantly erosion
What are some features of the middle course?
Decreasing gradient, transportation
What are some features of a lower course of a river?
Lateral erosion(sideways), deposition of small materials, flatter slope, lost of deposition
How does the shape of the river valley change downstream?
V-U
What are some features of a v shaped valley?
Rocky bed, most erosion, narrow stream, slowest flowing, large load, vertical erosion
What are the features of the valley in the middle course of a river?
Fairly wide river, lateral erosion(valley widening), less rocky, erosion and deposition, load size reduced.
What are some features of the valley in the lower course?
Wide river, smooth bed, alluvium deposition, deposition, river appears to flow slowly but usually has the fastest flow, small load
What is weathering?
When the valley sides are worn away and the stream removes the debris
What are interlocking spurs?
When the river goes around the hills, called spurs they look as if they lock together
How is a waterfall formed?
Hard rock overlies soft rock- overhang is created as the different rocks erode at different rates- overhang collapses into the plunge pool as it can’t support its weight- waterfall retreats upstream creating a gorge- the cycle repeats again
What is a meander?
A bend in the river
What creates a small river cliff?
On the outside bend of a river the water is flowing quickly this causes erosion by hydraulic action creating a small river cliff
How is a slip off slope created?
On the inside bend of a river the water is flowing slowly, this causes deposition which creates a slip off slope
How is an ox-bow lake formed?
A meander forms, the neck of the meander gets narrower over time due to erosion on the outer bend, due to continued erosion and often during a flood the water travels straight across the quickest route, the river deposits rocks and soil at the edges cutting off the meander creating an ox-bow lake. This eventually dries up leaving a scar.
What is a levee?
A raised bank either side of the channel in the Lowe course, formed by the river flowing
How is a levee formed?
During a flood banks are overtopped and larger material is deposited near the channel as speed and energy is lost, layers of material form from successive floods causing the levees to increase in height
What is a flood plain?
A wide, flat area of land either side of the river in its lower course
What is precipitation ?
Any form of moisture which reaches the ground e.g rain snow or frost
What is interception ?
When water is prevented from reaching the surface by Trees or grass
What is surface storage?
Water held on the surface e.g puddles
What is infiltration ?
Water sinking into the soil/rock from the ground surface
What is soil moisture?
Water held in the soil
What is percolation?
Water seeping deeper below the surface
What is ground water?
Water stored in the rock
What is transpiration?
Water lost through pores in vegetation
What is evaporation?
Water lost from ground / vegetation surface
What is surface run off?
Water flowing on top of te ground
What is throughflow?
Water flowing through the soil layer parallel to the surface
What is groundwater flow?
Water flowing through the rock layer parallel to the surface
What is ‘water table’?
Soil where no more water can be absorbed