Rivers & Coasts Flashcards
What are landforms?
When we study the shape of the Earth, we look at different landforms = all landforms are the result of wind, water, waves/ice = may be a result of erosion/deposition.
What is geomorphology?
Geo = the Earth Morph = to change Ology = the study of
Therefore Geomorphology is the study of the changing Earth.
What is weathering?
The breakdown of rocks by climate, chemicals, plants and animals
What are the 4 types of weathering?
- Physical weathering
- Freeze-thaw weathering
- Biological weathering
- Chemical weathering
What is erosion?
The removal of weathered material.
What are the 4 types of erosion?
Rivers Erosion
Wind Erosion
Coastal Erosion (Sea)
Glacial Erosion (Ice)
What is a drainage basin?
The entire area drained by a river system.
What is a watershed?
High-lying region which separates one drainage basin from another.
What is a source?
Original point from which a river flows.
What is a tributary?
Small rivers which join the main river.
What are confluences?
Point where a tributary joins the main river.
What is the mouth? (NOT the digestive system)
Place where a river enters the ocean/a lake.
What is the main river?
The large river into which all the tributaries flow.
What is a flood plain?
The land adjacent to the river that gets flooded when the river overflows.
What are the 5 parts of the longitudinal profile of a river?
- Source
- Upper Course
- Middle Course
- Lower Course
- Mouth