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rivers (paper 1) Flashcards

1
Q

what are the main three processes in rivers

A
  • erosion
  • transportation
  • deposition
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2
Q

what are rivers split into

A

three courses:
- upper
- middle
- lower

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3
Q

define mouth

A

where a river meets the sea

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4
Q

define source

A

where a river begins, usually in upland

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5
Q

define tributary

A

a small river or stream that joins a larger river

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6
Q

define river channel

A

this is where the river flows

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7
Q

define cross profile

A

a cross section of a river, seeing its internal structure and dimensions

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8
Q

define confluence

A

a point at which two rivers of the same size meet

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9
Q

define watershed

A

an area of land that seperates 1 river basin from another

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10
Q

define long profile

A

shows the change in gradient along the course of a river’s journey

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11
Q

define draingage basin

A

area of land drained by a river

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12
Q

define bank

A

side of a river

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13
Q

what is deposition

A

when a river drops eroded material it is transporting when a river loses velocity and loses energy

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14
Q

define flood

A

a large overflow of water, usually over land that is naturally dry

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15
Q

describe a river in the upper course

A
  • narrow and shallow
  • marsh upland areas
  • verticle erosion
  • small bed load
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16
Q

describe a river in the middle course

A
  • wider and deeper
  • flatter
  • faster
  • lateral erosion
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17
Q

describe a river in the lower course

A
  • widest & deepest
  • most deposition
  • small bed load
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18
Q

what are the types of erosion

A
  • hydraulic action = forcing crack by compressing air or water
  • abrasion = sand & stones scraping the bed & banks
  • solution = water dissolves soluble mineras in banks
  • attrition = rock & stones knock into each other
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19
Q

what are the types of transportation

A
  • traction = rolling boulders, in floods in upper course
  • saltation = small stone and pebbles bouncing along bed
  • suspension = small particles suspended in water
  • solution = dissolved materials
20
Q

define transportation

A

the movement of materla from one place to another

21
Q

what are the erosional landforms of a river

A
  • meander
  • gorge
  • v-shaped valley
  • waterfall
  • interlocking spurs
22
Q

describe interlocking spurs

A
  • found in upper course
  • river is eroding verticaly
  • erodes the weakest (softest) geology
  • abrasion + hydraulic action leterally
23
Q

descirbe v-shaped valleys

A
  • found in upper course
  • eroding vertically
  • cut valley
  • everything above weakens & drops
  • weathering & gravity = mass movement
24
Q

describe a waterfall

A
  • only in upper course
  • hard rock above soft rock
  • falling water causes soft rock to erode
  • hard rock is overhanging
  • hard rock collapses
  • waterfall retreats and leaves a gorge
25
wha causes deposition
- loss of velocity - loss of energy - water depth / gradient - friction
26
describe the cross profile of a meander
- asymetrical - deeper outside bend, faster water, more erosion
27
explain the process of a meander to an oxbow lake
- erosion on outside bend causes meander neck to narrow - flood breaks the neck of the meander - straight path becomes dominant - old meander drys up = meander scar
28
define a floodplain
wide, flat, fertile area of land either side of a river channel formed from repeated flooding events
29
what are floodplains made of
alluvium - sediment that has been deposited by a river in a flood
30
how do floodplains form
- meander moves side to side due to meander migration, leaving meander scars - on the edges of the floodplain the land hasn't been eroded - these are bluffs - each time the water flows over the floodplain the river deposits a thick, fertile layer of alluvium
31
explain levees
- sediment deposited on the banks of the river - largest sediment deposited losest to river - thin, fine sediments deposited over outer parts of floodplain
32
what is an estury
where the river meets the sea - afected by tides and the action of coastal waves - leading to mudflats and salt marshes
33
what is an esturay like at high tide
huge volumes of water at high velocity
34
what is an esturay like at low tide
vast mudflats & salt marshes
35
where is an example of how the river severn changes its landscape
the waterfall - the severn breaks its neck
36
where is the source of the river severn
north west wales
37
what are physical factors that affect flood risk
- gradient - little vegitation cover - permeability of soil and geology - percipitation - small carrying capacity
38
what are the human factors that affect flood risk
- urbanisation = impermeable materials - farming activities = trenches - deforestation = little interception - climate change = increased evapouration
39
what does a sorm hydrograph show
how a river responds to rainfall with peak rainfall and peak discharge and a lag time
40
explain the relationship between lag time and and flood risk
the shorter the lag time the higher the flood risk
41
explain the relationship between falling limb and drainage
how quickly the river returns to normal after peak discharge
42
what are the two ways to describe a hydrograph
- flashy - subdued
43
what are the soft engineering techniques for preventing flood risks
- afforestation = planting trees on the banks - flood warnings = flood alerts sent out - flood plain zoning = minimised impact on land - river restoration = returning river to natural state
44
what are the hard engineering techniques for preventing flood risk
- embankmetns = artificially raised river bank - dams & reserviors = large concrete barrier to impede flow - channel straightening = meandering section changed to be straighter, deeper, wider - flood relief channels = artificial channel acting as a backup
45
what is an example of a river management location
banbury - 1998 £12.5M damage from floods, 2007 = more floods
46
how was banbury imporved
- A361 raised & stays open - £18.5 M ost scheme - 100,000 tonnes of earth for biodiversity action plan - quality of life improved

Geography (11 decks)

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