River Landforms

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  • River Landforms
    • River Basin
      • Area of land surrounding a river.
      • Tributary- smaller river that joins the main one.
      • Source- the start of the river.
      • Mouth- where it meets the sea.
    • V-Shaped Valleys
      • Vertical Erosion
      • Upper course of the river.
      • Valley sides exposed to weathering.
      • Not enough energy for lateral erosion.
    • Waterfalls and Gorges
      • Upper course of the river.
      • Section of softer rock eroded creating a step.
      • Water goes over the step and erodes it to make it steeper.
      • Hard rock undercut and collapses.
      • When it collapses, it leaves steep sides which forms a gorge.
    • Meanders
      • Erosion and deposition on a river.
      • Current on the outside of the bend is faster. More erosion on the outside of the bend.
      • Current slower on the inside- material deposited, forming slip-off slopes.
    • Oxbow Lakes
      • Caused by a meander getting larger and joining up,
      • Erosion causes outside bends to get closer.
      • River eventually breaks through.
      • Water takes the shortest path.
      • Deposition cuts off the meander, leaving an oxbow lake.
    • Floodplains
      • Flat areas of land that flood.
      • Floodplain gets higher when the river floods.
      • Deposition on slip off slopes also builds up the floodplain.
    • Levees
      • Natural embankment on the edge of a river.
      • Forms during a flood - heavier material dropped closest to river.

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