rivers and coasts

what does relief mean?

shape of the land

what is the world largest drainage basin and how big is it?

the amazon basin, 61million square km

what is a drainage basin?

an area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet of water (for example a river)

what is water shed?

this marks the invisible boundary of high ground that separates one drainage basin from another (channels rainfall/runoff into a common body of water)(top of a mountain)

what is confluence?

the location where 2 rivers combine together to form one larger river with the same channel of water

what is a meander?

a bend in the river

what is the mouth?

where the river has stopped flowing on land and meets the sea

what’s a delta?

a landform created by deposition of sediment that is carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth

whats a tributary?

a smaller stream/river that flows into a larger stream

what’s a source?

the place where a river begins

what are 2 distinctive landforms in a river?

meander, tributary, delta, oxbow lake

what is discharge?

how much water is flowing in the river

what is velocity?

speed of the river

what is the gradient?

steepness of the slap

what is the long profile?

a sideways view of the rivers journey down its drainage basin. it can be divided into 3 sections (upper, middle, lower)

what is the cross profile?

an imaginary slice across a river channel

describe how the shape of a valley changes downstream?

at the upper course it’s a v shape valley and had vertical erosion and is narrow. there is a steep gradient.

as the river enters the middle course it changes shape and becomes wider and less deep, due to lateral erosion and there is a more gentle gradient

in the lower course it becomes even wider due to more lateral erosion and a very low gradient aswell as a slower velocity. there is also a flood plain.

what does fluvial mean?

flowing water

what is traction?

when large boulders are dragged/rolled along the seabed

what is suspension?

when the finest particles are light enough to be held in suspension in the water

what is solution?

dissolved material from chalk or limestone rock is carried away (this is not visible)

what is saltation?

where rocks bounce along the bed of a river (being picked up carried a bit then dropped)

what is hydraulic action?

force of the water hitting the river bed and getting into cracks, causing it to erode and break apart

what is attrition?

sediment colliding with each other, making them smaller and rounder

what is solution?

rock such as chalk or limestone is slowly dissolved because the rocks are soluble in the slightly acidic water

what is abrasion?

where sediment collides with the beds and banks, breaking parts of the wall into the water