The Course of a River Flashcards
What is the source of a river
Where a river begins, normally many metres above sea level
What is the mouth of a river?
Where a river flows into the sea
What is a tributary?
A smaller river that joins the main channel
What is a confluence point?
Where a tributary joins the main river channel
What is the watershed?
The high point that separates one drainage basin from the next
What is the long profile of a river?
A cross-section from the river’s source to its mouth
What is the cross profile of a river?
The cross-section across the river’s channel and valley
How does the long profile of a river change?
River gradient decreases downstream, steep in the upper course to more gentle in the lower course
What’s the cross profile of a river in its upper course like? (4 marks)
- V-Shaped Valley (narrow and steep sided)
- Channel is small and fairly shallow
- Mostly erosion
- Erosion is mostly vertical
What is the cross profile of a river like in its middle course? (5 marks)
- Valley wider with gentler sloping sides
- channel is wider and deeper
- River erodes both vertically and laterally
- both erosion and deposition
- a flood plain begins
What is the cross profile or a river like in its lower course? (5 Marks)
- Valley is wide and flat with big flood plain
- Channel is at its widest and deepest
- river discharge and velocity at maximum
- mostly lateral erosion
- mostly deposition
What is a drainage basin?
An area of land drained by a system of rivers
