Understanding Our Natural World: River Environments Glossary Flashcards
Infiltration
2 marks
Water soaks or filters into the soil (transfer).
Surface Runoff
3 marks
Water moves across the surface of the Earth becoming a stream, tributary or river (transfer).
Precipitation
3 marks
An input where water is introduced to the Drainage basin system (input).
Evapotranspiration
4 marks
Water vapour is evaporated from the trunk, leaves of trees and other vegetation, back into the atmosphere (output).
Throughflow
3 marks
Water moves downhill through the soil (transfer).
Groundwater flow
3 marks
Water moving slowly through the soil and porous rocks to move back towards the sea (transfer).
Percolation
3 marks
Water moving from the soil into the spaces (pores) in the rocks (transfer).
Evaporation
2 marks
The process in which a liquid changes state and turns into a gas.
Condensation
2 marks
A change of state in which a gas becomes a liquid by cooling.
Water Cycle
2 marks
The system where water is constantly moving above, on or below the Earth’s surface + is changing state.
Depth
4 marks
The measurement of the height of water in the river (typically in cm). Usually the depth will increase as the river moves from the Source to the Mouth.
Drainage Basin
2 marks
The area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries.
Erosion
3 marks
Takes place when parts of the River Bank or River Bed are worn away and removed from the landscape.
Gradient
3 marks
The angle of the land, as the river flows towards the Mouth, it will become less steep and therefore the land will be flatter.
Interception
3 marks
When water is absorbed and collected by vegetation (store).
Lateral Erosion
2 marks
The wearing away of the landscape when a river erodes sideways.
Load
1 mark
Eroded material carried along by the water in a river.
Mouth
1 mark
The place where a river meets the sea.
River Discharge
3 marks
The amount of water that passes a point in a river at a particular time (output).
Sediment
2 marks
Small fragments of rock and soil that form layers.
Source
1 mark
Where the drops of water come together to start a river.
Surface Storage
2 marks
Total Volume of water held on the Earth’s Surface (store).
Tributary
2 marks
A small river or stream that flows into a larger river/stream.
Vertical Erosion
3 marks
When the land is eroded or worn away in a downwards direction.
eg - a river that is high up will erode vertically because gravity pulls the water downwards.
