River Processes and Landforms

Flashcards covering key vocabulary related to river processes, landforms, and associated concepts.

Drainage Basin

An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries, bounded by watersheds.

Watershed

Boundary that separates different drainage basins.

Upper Course

The section of a river where it starts, characterized by narrow, v-shaped tributaries.

Middle Course

The section of a river where tributaries merge to form a deeper and rounder channel with more energy.

Lower Course

The final stretch of a river before it meets the sea, characterized by a wide and deep channel carrying the largest volume of water.

Erosion

The process by which soil and rock are removed from the Earth's surface by wind, water, or ice.

Abrasion

Erosional process where rocks carried by the water scrape against the riverbanks and bed, gradually wearing them away.

Attrition

Erosion of rocks caused by them colliding with one another, resulting in smaller, rounder stones.

Hydraulic Action

Erosion caused by the force of water compressing air in cracks in rocks, leading to fracturing.

Corrosion

Erosion caused by the chemical action of water dissolving certain minerals and rocks.

Load

The materials carried by a river, which can include rocks, sediments, and dissolved chemicals.

Meander

Bends in the shape of a river, typically found in the middle course, formed by erosion and deposition.

Ox-Bow Lake

A crescent-shaped lake formed when a meander is cut off from the main river.

Floodplain

Flat land adjacent to a river that may flood when the river overflows its banks.

Levee

Raised banks along the sides of a river that help contain floodwater.

Estuary

The tidal mouth of a large river, where the river meets the sea.

Flash Flooding

Sudden and intense flooding that occurs within six hours of heavy rainfall.

Storm Hydrograph

A graph showing changes in river discharge over time in response to a rainstorm.

Fluvial Process

All processes associated with the movement of water in a river.

Deposition

The process by which sediment carried by a river is dropped when the river slows down.

Velocity

The speed at which water flows within a river, affected by the river's shape and gradient.