Rivers and flooding

Question 1

Source

Answer 1

The point at which a river starts

Question 2

Upper course

Answer 2

The first stage of river, the narrowest and shallowest bit of the rivee, often located on high ground

Question 3

middle course

Answer 3

the second stage of a river where the land is flatter and the river wider

Question 4

lower course

Answer 4

the land is flat and the river is at its widest

Question 5

channel

Answer 5

the river bed and banks in which water flows

Question 6

v-shaped valley

Answer 6

the river in the upper course flows through steep gradients

Question 7

tributaries

Answer 7

small streams that join the larger river

Question 8

erosion

Answer 8

material is cut away from river beds and banks by the water

Question 9

transportation

Answer 9

when eroded material is taken downstream

Question 10

deposition

Answer 10

The sediment is ‘dropped’ or deposited onto the river banks when the river no longer has the capacity/energy to carry it, it is then emptied into the wetland area that forms as river waters empty into a larger body of water (aka the river delta)

Question 11

meander

Answer 11

the natural bend in a river

Question 12

mouth

Answer 12

the point where the river ends

Question 13

estuary

Answer 13

in the lower course, where the river meets the sea

Question 14

precipitation

Answer 14

rain, hail, sleet and snow

Question 15

surface runoff

Answer 15

when precipitation runs over the surface of the land

Question 16

throughflow

Answer 16

When water infiltrates the layer of soil and flows through it, rather than overland

Question 17

confluence

Answer 17

The point at which a tributary joins the main river, or where main rivers merge

Question 18

bankfull

Answer 18

The point at which a tributary joins the main river, or where main rivers merge

Question 19

discharge

Answer 19

the volume of water in a river (at any one point

Question 20

overbank flow

Answer 20

When the river bursts its banks and the water leaves the main river channel

Question 21

flood plain

Answer 21

The area surrounding a river that has been submerged by water as a consequence of overbank flow

Question 22

drainage basin

Answer 22

the area of land that drains into one river and its tributaries

Question 23

watershed

Answer 23

The boundary of the drainage basin. One drainage basin is defined from others by its watershed

Question 24

lag time

Answer 24

the time delay between the heaviest rainfall and the maximum discharge of a river

Question 25

recede

Answer 25

The flood water will eventually infiltrate the soil or flow back into the river channel. As the water recedes the river may take a new course

Question 26

long profile

Answer 26

The course of a river drawn from source to mouth

Question 27

saltation transportation

Answer 27

where pebbles are BOUNCED along the river bed

Question 28

Suspension

Answer 28

where particles carried in the water

Question 29

Traction

Answer 29

where pebbles are ROLLED along the river bed