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What is a river?
Freshwater flowing downhill in a river channel from the source to mouth.
Is a river made up of freshwater or saltwater?
Freshwater
Does a river move downhill or uphill?
Downhill
Define: Source
Where a river begins.
Define: Mouth
The end of the river where it joins with a larger body of water.
Define: Confluence
The point where two rivers join.
Define: Tributary
Smaller rivers that join a main river.
Define: Watershed
The edge of a drainage basin.
Define: Drainage Basin
The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Define: Estuary
When river freshwater mixes with the seas saltwater.
Define: Discharge
The volume of water in a river.
Define: Channel
The path a river flows in.
Define: Bedload
All the sediment in a river channel.
Where does a river begin and end?
Begins at the source
Ends at the mouth
What is the point at which 2 rivers meet?
Confluence
What are smaller rivers that join a main river?
Tributary
What is the edge of a drainage basin?
Watershed
What is the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries?
Drainage basin
What is a mix of freshwater and saltwater?
Estuary
What is the volume/amount of water in a river?
Discharge
What is the path a river flows in?
River channel
Define: Erosion
The breakdown/wearing away and movement of rock, such as the banks and bed of the river.
What is the breakdown/wearing away and movement of rock, such as the banks and bed of the river?
Erosion
Name the four types of erosion
Hydraulic Action
Abrasion
Attrition
Corrosion
Name the two directions of erosion
Vertical and Lateral
Which type of erosion acts in a downwards direction - eroding mainly the bed?
Vertical erosion
What type of erosion acts in a sideways direction - eroding mainly the banks?
Lateral erosion
Does vertical erosion act sideways or downwards?
Downwards
Does lateral erosion act sideways or downwards?
Sideways
Does vertical erosion mainly erode the bed or banks?
Bed
Does lateral erosion mainly erode the bed or banks?
Banks
Which direction of erosion occurs in the upper course?
Vertical erosion.
What is hydraulic action?
The power of flowing water into cracks in the rivers banks/bed, breaking pieces off and eroding it.
What is abrasion?
Small boulders and rocks scratch and scrape along the river’s bed/banks during transport, wearing away the banks and bed.
What is attrition?
Rocks knock and bang against each other, breaking pieces off and smoothing/rounding the rocks.
What is corrosion?
Dissolving of soluble rocks by chemicals in the river like chalk and limestone.
“The power of flowing water into cracks in the rivers banks/bed, breaking pieces off and eroding it.” - What type of erosion is this?
Hydraulic action
What type of erosion involves water getting into cracks in the rock?
Hydraulic action
“Dissolving of soluble rocks by chemicals in the river like chalk and limestone.“ - What type of erosion is this?
Corrosion
What type of erosion involves the dissolving of rocks by chemicals in the water?
Corrosion
“Rocks knock and bang against each other, breaking pieces off and smoothing/rounding the rocks.” - What type of erosion is this?
Attrition
What type of erosion involves rocks banging against each other?
Attrition
“Small boulders and rocks scratch and scrape along the river’s bed/banks during transport, wearing away the banks and bed.“ - What type of erosion is this?
Abrasion
What type of erosion involves rocks scraping along the rivers bed and banks?
Abrasion
Name the four types of river transport
Solution
Saltation
Suspension
Traction
What is traction?
Large heavy boulders are rolled slowly along the river bed by the force of the water.
What is saltation?
Pebbles are bounced along the river bed.
What is suspension?
Lighter sediment is suspended and carried within the water.
What is solution?
The transport of dissolved rock/chemicals.
“Large heavy boulders are rolled slowly along the river bed by the force of the water.” - Which type of river transportation is this describing?
Traction
What type of transport involves slowly rolling rocks along the river bed?
Traction
“Pebbles are bounced along the river bed.“ - Which type of river transportation is this describing?
Saltation
What type of transport involves rocks bouncing along the river bed?
Saltation
“Lighter sediment is suspended and carried within the water.” - Which type of river transportation is this describing?
Suspension
What type of transport involves sediment suspended in the river?
Suspension
“The transport of dissolved rock/chemicals.” - Which type of river transportation is this describing?
Solution
What type of transport involves dissolved chemicals/rocks?
Solution
What is deposition?
When a river loses energy, it drops any sediment it had been carrying during transportation.
When does deposition occur?
When velocity of the river drops so the river loses energy.
Freeze thaw weathering
Water gets into a crack in the rock, freezes and expands. The process repeats, weakening the rock and eventually making it fully breakdown.
Describe a long profile
A diagram showing the full length of the river and it’s gradient (steepness) from its source to its mouth. It shows how the river changes across all three courses.
Which profile shows the full length of the river and it’s gradient (steepness) from its source to its mouth?
Long profile
Describe a cross profile
A diagram showing a section of a river’s channel and valley sides. It shows the width, depth and banks of the river.
Which profile shows the width and depth of a river: its bed and banks?
Cross profile
Which profile shows the length of a river?
Long profile
Which profile shows a rivers gradient?
Long profile
What is the fastest flow back to the river?
Surface run off
What are the 3 processes in which water travels back to the river?
Surface run off, through flow and groundwater flow
Precipitation
Rain, hail, sleet or snow
Interception
Leaves/Trees catching the rain as it falls towards the ground
Inflitration
Water seeping into the soil
Percolation
Water seeping into the rock layer beneath the soil
Throughflow
Water flows through the soil back to the river
Groundwater flow
Water flows through the rock towards the river
What is it called when water seeps into the soil?
Infiltration
What is it called when water seeps into the rock layer beneath the soil?
Percolation
What is it called when water flows through the soil back into the river?
Throughflow
What is it called when water flows through the rock back into the river?
Groundwater flow
What type of rock does not allow liquid to pass through?
Impermeable rock
What type of rock allows liquid to pass through?
Permeable rock
Name the 3 courses of a river
Upper, middle and lower course
Describe the velocity, discharge, energy and shape in the upper course
Low velocity
Low discharge
Low energy
Narrow + Shallow + Steep
Describe the velocity, discharge, energy and shape in the lower course
High velocity
High discharge
High energy
Wide + Deep
Which course is narrow and shallow?
Upper course
Which course is wide and deep?
Lower course
What course is the source found in?
Upper course
What course is the mouth found in?
Lower course
Which course has the fastest velocity?
Lower course
Which course has the slowest velocity?
Upper course
Which course has the highest discharge?
Lower course
Which course has the lowest discharge?
Upper course
Why is velocity slow in the upper course?
Low discharge means there’s lots of friction between the rocks and water
Why is velocity fast in the lower course?
High discharge so less friction between rocks/water
Lots of energy means that the river moves quickly
Why does the width of a river channel increase as you move downstream?
Tributaries join + lateral erosion occurs
Why does the discharge of a river channel increase as you move downstream?
Tributaries join
Which type of erosion explains why sediment carried by a river becomes smaller as you move downstream?
Attrition
Why does the depth of a river channel increase?
Vertical erosion
Why does the size of sediment tend to decrease downstream?
More erosion - especially attrition which reduces the size of sediment
Landform
Unique natural features on the earths surface
Name upper course landforms
V-Shaped Valley
Interlocking spurs
Waterfall
Gorge
Plunge pool