HL Geography - Option A: Freshwater

levees

raised banks as coarse material is deposited near the channel as a result of repeated flooding

meander

the river erodes the outer bank of a bend and deposition occurs along the inner bank forming a point bar

waterfall

occurs on horizontally bedded rocks as soft rock is undercut by hydraulic action causing hard rock to collapse and retreat

suspension

the smallest particles are carried in the water

saltation

large particles hop along the river system

traction

pebbles shunt along the river bed

solution

material is carried in dissolved load

flotation

materials such as leaves and twigs are carried along the surface of the river

river erosion

the wearing away of land as water flows past the bed and bank

hydraulic action

the force of air and water going into cracks

attrition

wearing of load as rocks knock against each other

abrasion

the scraping away of the bed and bank

corrosion

chemicals in the river dissolves minerals in the rocks within the bed and bank, carrying them away in solution

Bradshaw model

a model which shows how the size of the river affects stream flow

drainage basin

areas of land where precipitation drains downhill into a body of water

watershed

the boundary line of a drainage basin

source

the start of a river

tributary

a smaller river which joins the main river

confluence

the point where two rivers meet

floodplain

the area of land on either side of the river channel

mouth

the point where the river joins another body of water such as the sea

6275km

length of the Mississippi River

1400 million m³ per day

Discharge of the Mississippi River

7 meters

the height of the levee in New Orleans along the Mississippi River

3 meters

the height of the levee at Lake Pontchartrain along the Mississippi River

Morganza Spillway

the diversionary spillway built in 1973 along the Mississippi River

2016

the Mississippi dredging plan was completed in…

5 feet

the Mississippi dredging plan lowered the river bed by…

29

the number of locks and dams along the Mississippi river

1203 feet

the length of the largest lock and dam along the Mississippi River

44km

length of the River Otter

3.12m³ per second

discharge of the River Otter

30%

the % decrease of average peak flow of water downstream during storms after beavers were introduced to the River Otter

15

the number of beaver families currently living along the river otter

139km²

the size of lake Naivasha

30m

the maximum depth of Lake Naivasha

Gilgil and Malewa

the two main rivers feeding the wetland area of lake Naivasha

Oserian

a Dutch flower farm located on the south shores of Lake Naivasha, Kenya which is Africa’s largest rose producer

Lake Naivasha Riparian Association (LNRA)

a group of landowners on Lake Naivasha who established a 100m buffer zone to protect native papyrus and use of pesticides

Integrated Drainage Basin Management

the process of coordinating conservation, management and development, and related resources across sectors within a given river basin, in order to maximize the economic and social benefits

20% from the White Nile and 80% from the Blue Nile

where the full discharge from the Nile comes from

Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Uganda and South Sudan

countries the Nile flows through

238 million

the number of people living in the Nile drainage basin

1929 Nile Water Agreement

agreement between Egypt and Great Britain regarding the utilization of the waters of the Nile River which granted Egypt veto power over construction projects on the Nile or any tributaries

Sudan

the country with the longest section of the Nile

Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

A hydropower project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, located 30km upstream of the border with Sudan.

6’450MW

GERD energy production capacity