Geography Michaelmas exam revision

Condensation

Water vapour (gas) turning into water droplets (liquid)

Evaporation

Water (liquid) turning into a gas (water vapour)

Tributary

A smaller river flowing into a larger one

River velocity

The speed of the river flow

Meander

Bend in the river

Deposition

The process of sediment being dropped by a river (when it slows down)

When the river dumps/drops sediment

Precipitation

Any form of water falling to the ground

River cliff

Outside of a meander

Weathering

Breakdown of rock

Delta

landform made by river deposited in the sea (at the mouth of the river)

Gorge

Steep sided valley

Infiltration

Water entering soil/rock

Confluence

The point where two rivers join

Ox bow lake

Former meander cut of from the river

Levee

Raised bank on the side of the river channel

Gradient

Angle of the land which affects the speed of the river flow

Transportation

Movement of sediment by a river (there are 4 types)

River long profile

Side on view of a river's course split into upper, middle and lower sections

corrosion

Type of erosion where chemicals in the water dissolve the rock

Drainage basin

The area of land drained by a river

Flood plain

Flat land either side of the river

Estuary

Where the river meets the sea water

River erosion

The process of the bed and banks of a river being worn away (there are 4 types)

Erosion

Wearing away of rock by a moving force

The load

Sediment (pieces of rock) carried by a river from large boulders to tiny grains of silt

Abrasion

Type of erosion where sediment in water scrapes away at rock

Hydraulic action

Type of erosion where the force of water wears away rock

Attrition

Type of erosion where the sediment gets bashed into smaller rounder pieces

Surface run-off

Water flowing over land