theme 2.1 rivers Flashcards
Shaping the landscape - rivers
What is the drainage basin?
The catchment area of the river
What is the source?
The start of a river, on high ground
What is a tributary?
A smaller river that leads into a bigger river
What is a confluence?
Where two rivers meet
What is the watershed?
The edge of a basin
What is the mouth?
Where a river meets the sea
What is the water cycle?
Evaporation (liquid water becomes water vapor) -> transportation (the movement of water vapor) -> condensation (water vapor becomes liquid water) -> precipitation (water droplets falling as rain, snow, sleet or hail)
What is interception?
Water is stored on the branches and leaves of vegetation
What is transpiration?
Water vapor is released through the stomata (pores) in the leaves
What is throughflow?
Water flows horizontally through the soil into the river
What is percolation?
Water flows vertically through the soil and rocks
What is infiltration?
Water seeps into the ground
What is groundwater flow?
Water flows horizontally through the rock into the river
What is evaporation?
Water turns from water droplets into water vapor
what is erosion?
the wearing away of land and rock over time
what is transport?
sediment being carried from one place to another by a river
what is discharge?
the amount of water that passes a particular point in a river
what is the load?
the material carried by a river
what is deposition?
when the river drops some of its load
what is vertical erosion?
downward erosion
what are interlocking spurs?
the pieces of land that interlock along a rivers course, they form V-shaped valleys
what is a gorge?
a steep sided valley formed by the retreat of a waterfall
what is a plunge pool?
the pool at the bottom of a waterfall
what is lateral erosion?
the horizontal erosion of the river banks that creates meanders
