Rivers and UK Weather

Flashcards relating to rivers and the weather.

List some of the uses of rivers.

Rivers are used for agriculture, drinking water, habitats, food, recreation, transportation, and hydroelectric power.

What are some keywords associated with why rivers are important?

Rivers, hydroelectric power, fishing, and transport.

How would you define a river?

A natural stream of water flowing in a channel, eventually reaching the ocean or sea.

Which river is the shortest in the provided list?

River Avon

Which river is located in the South East of the UK in the provided list?

River Thames

What is the range for the distance of the rivers in the UK listed?

200km

Which river is the 3rd longest in the provided list?

River Trent

Which river is located furthest North in the provided list?

River Spey

Which rivers are located in Scotland in the provided list?

River Clyde, River Tay and River Spey

Why might the River Thames be considered the most important river?

Thames: located in the capital city, used for trade, tourism, and accessibility

What is the mean (average) length of the rivers in the UK listed in the table?

232.3km

What factors explain why we build close to a river?

Transport, fishing, access to coastline, and water source.

What is the main city that the Thames runs through?

London

How many key towns and cities are on the Thames?

16

How long is the Thames?

215 miles

What is the main means of transporting materials on the Thames?

Barge

How many shipping ports are on the Thames?

60 active ports/shipping ports

How many different species of fish are in the Thames?

125 different species

What percentage of London's drinking water comes from the Thames?

66% or 2/3

What are four examples of precipitation?

Snow, hail, sleet, and rain.

What are some keywords related to the water cycle?

Precipitation evaporation, groundwater, and transpiration.

Where does a river start?

The mountains

What is the top of a river called?

The source

What is the end of the river called?

The mouth

List the key words associated with the water cycle.

Precipitation, Condensation, Evaporation, Clouds, Ocean, Transpiration, Surface Run-Off

List the parts of the water cycle that humans can impact?

Interception by plants, infiltration, surface storage and river channel

What are 5 ways water moves around the earth?

Evaporation, precipitation, transpiration, overland flow, through flow, and river channel.

What are 4 processes of the water cycle that could be interrupted?

Interception, infiltration, surface storage, and river channel.

What are 3 types of precipitation?

Rain, snow, hail, sleet, and fog.

What are 2 ways water can enter the atmosphere?

Evaporation and transpiration

Give one way river channels can be interrupted

Dams or Reservoirs

What are the three main processes that allow a river to shape the land?

Erosion, transportation, and deposition.

What are some keywords associated with how rivers shape the land?

Erosion, transportation, and transport.

What is erosion?

Wearing away of material (rocks) by the river

What is transportation?

Carrying of material (rocks) by the river

What is deposition?

Dropping of material (rocks) by the river

What are 4 types of erosion?

Hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, and solution.

What are 4 types of transportation?

Traction, saltation, suspension and solution

What are rocks like at the source of a river?

Large and angular

What are rocks like at the mouth of a river?

Small and smooth

Name 3 landforms that rivers can create?

Waterfall, meanders and flood plains

How does a river shape the land?

Erosion, transportation and deposition

What is a waterfall?

A steep drop in a river located in the upper course.

What type of rock does a waterfall have to flow over?

Hard and soft

What is a gorge?

A narrow, steep sided valley.

What is the long profile?

Line representing the course of a river from its source to its mouth and the changes in height along its course

What is the cross profile?

A cross-section of a river's channel and the shape of the valley at certain points in the river's course.

What is a meander?

A bend or loop in the channel of a river, found in the middle and lower courses.

What is a flood plain?

An area of flat land found next to the river channel, only found in the lower course.

What are contours?

Lines drawn on a map that join places which have the same height.

What is a flood?

Flooding occurs when a river overflows onto the land.

What are the causes of floods?

Deforestation, building on land, intensive rainfall, long periods of rainfall, and a narrow river channel.

What are the effects and impacts of flooding?

Pollution, loss of life, economic damage, transport disruption, destruction of homes, and fires.

What is Urbanisation?

The increase in people living in urban areas

What is Deforestation?

Cutting down or clearing wide areas of trees.

What is flood plain?

An area of land that sits either side of a river that is covered in water when the river floods.

Describe the location of Bangladesh.

Asia. East of India and NorthEast of Sri Lanka.

Describe the location of China.

Asia. It is located below Russia, west of the Pacific Ocean and north from India

What steps can be taken to manage flooding?

Dams, afforestation, and barriers.

What is river management?

Lengthening the amount of time it takes for the water to reach the river channel, reducing the risk of a flood

What are the two types of flood defence used on the Yangtze?

Hard and soft Engineering.

How many people died as a result of flooding in 1931 on the Yangtze?

Over 3 million.

How does the Yangtze compare to other rivers?

The third biggest river in the world.

What are the two types of hard engineering used on the Yangtze River?

Dams and Levees.

What are two of the soft engineering methods used on the Yangtze river?

Floodplain zoning, wash land and flood warning system

What is river abuse?

Industrial waste dumping, temperature rise, deforestation, fertilisers, accidental oil spills

What causes water pollution?

Sewage, Volcanoes, Fertilisers, Animal Waste, Acid Rain, Silt, Algae, Oil

What are the consequences of water pollution?

Loss of biodiversity and ecosystems. Humans harmed by contaminated water intake

Describe the location of Indonesia.

Located south of China, southeast of the middle east, east of Africa.

What is climate?

It takes the average rainfall and temperature and measures it over 30 years.

What is weather?

It measures the temperature and the wind speed on a day to day basis. It is very volatile.

What words are associated with climate and weather?

Overall, Pressured, Measured, Speed, Measured, Temperature.

What are the elements of the weather?

Wind Force and Direction, Precipitation, Temperature, Humidity, Clouds

What are some elements we measure?

They are precipitation, temperature, wind speed, wind direction, wind intensity air pressure and cloud type

What measures precipitation?

Rain Gauge measures mm

What measures temperature?

Thermometer measures degrees Celsius

What is wind measured with?

Wind Vane, Beaufort scale with Compass Rose

What is air pressure measured with?

Barometer with Millibars - 0-12

What are the main cloud types?

stratus, cumulus, cumulonimbus, cirrus

What phrases are associated with a depression?

Area of low pressure, large, and rising