Rivers - Class Quiz

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Drainage Basin
An area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries.
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Watershed
An area of highland that separated one drainage basin to another
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Source
The start of a river
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Tributary
A smaller river flowing into a larger one
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Confluence
Where two rivers meet
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Estuary
Where the fresh water of the river meets the salt water of the sea
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Upper Course (Long Profile)
Steep gradient, rocky and narrow, shallow river channel
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Middle Course (Long Profile)
Gentle gradient, more vegetation, wider and deeper river channel
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Lower Course (Long Profile)
Flat gradient, urban areas and wide and very deep river channel
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Upper Course Channel
V-shaped river channel
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Middle Course Channel
Wider and deeper river channel
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Lower Course Channel
Very wide and very deep channel
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Erosion
Wearing away of material as it moves
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Hydraulic Action
The force of the water hitting the river bed and cliffs
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Attrition
When stones carried by the river hit against each other making them smaller
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Abrasion
When sediment rubs against the side of the river bank
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Solution (erosion)
When water flows over limestone or chalk and the rock is slowly dissolved
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Traction
Where large sediment and rocks are rolled along the floor of the river bed
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Saltation
Where smaller material and pebbles are able to be picked up by the water and then dropped on the floor of the river channel
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Suspension
Where fine sediment is held suspended in the river and floats with the current
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Solution (transportation)
Where dissolved sediment is dissolved into the water
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Deposition
Deposition is when the velocity (speed) of the water in a river decreases and it does not have the energy to transport sediment and so drops the sediment
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What are the four erosional landforms?
Interlocking spurs, waterfalls, gorges and meanders
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What are the four depositional landforms?
Meanders, oxbow lakes, floodplains (levees) and estuaries
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Flooding
Where the water rises above the river channel and overflows onto the floodplain
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Physical causes of flooding
Heavy precipitation, impermeable rock, steep slopes (sudden heavy rainfall, long-term rain and small drainage basin)
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Human causes of flooding
Urbanisation, deforestation and agriculture (building on the floodplain)
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Storm Hydrograph
A Hydrograph measures the volume of water along a river - discharge - and plots it on a graph after a storm
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Discharge
The volume of water passing a given point in a river at any moment in time
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Lag Time
The delay between peak rainfall and peak discharge
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Rising Limb
The increase in river discharge as rainwater flows into the river
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Falling Limb
The decrease in river discharge as the river returns to its normal level
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Peak Discharge
The highest discharge in the period of time you are looking at
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Other storm Hydrograph labels
Time, base flow, through flow, overland flow and peak rainfall
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What creates a gentle gradient on a storm Hydrograph?
Large drainage basin, outs of tributaries, permeable rock, forest areas, gentle slope, dry soil and light rain.
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What creates a steep gradient on a storm Hydrograph?
Small drainage basin, few tributaries, impermeable rock, urbanized areas, steep slopes, saturated soils and heavy rain
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Hard Engineering Strategy - Dams & Reservoirs
+ Stores water, hydroelectric power, prevents floods. - Expensive, floods areas of land, forced migration of people.
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Hard Engineering Strategy - Channel Straightening
+ Straight water, water runs faster meaning no flooding. - Unattractive, damage wildlife and could cause flooding further downstream.
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Hard Engineering Strategy - Embankments
+ Material is put onto the channel sides to raise the river banks, increasing the capacity. - Expensive, unattractive.
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Soft Engineering Strategy - Flood Plain Zoning
+ Restricts buildings built on areas near rivers that flood, flooded land can be used for farming. - Some land is already built on.
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Soft Engineering Strategy - Storage Areas
+ Wetlands store water, reduces water in rivers. - Land isn't always available, waste of land ghat could be used for building.
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Soft Engineering Strategy - River Restoration
+ Straightened river is put back to normal; meander, allows the river to run its course. - Takes a long time to occur, may affect urban areas.
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Soft Engineering Strategy - Afforestation
+ Trees collect water so it reduces the amount flowing back to the river. - Lots of trees are needed for it to be effective so can be expensive.
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Rivers Case Study
River Severn: source is in the Cambrian Mountain range in Wales and he estuary/mouth is in Bristol, England
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Vertical ersoion
Where erosion occurs downward (V-shaped valleys)
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Lateral erosion
Where erosion occurs on the sides (floodplains)
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Interlocking Spurs
Vertical erosion creates V-shaped valleys. The river isn't powerful enough to erode laterally so winds around the hillsides. Hillsides interlock to form interlocking spurs.
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Waterfall
River flows over an area of hard rock followed by soft rock which is eroded to form a step. As water goes over the step, it erodes the soft rock more until a steep drop has been created and a plunge pool has formed from falling material.
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Gorge
The hard rock is undercut to form an overhang. Weathering causes it to collapse into the plunge pool. This process repeats and overtime, it retreats upstream.
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Meander (outside bend)
The current is faster because the channel is deeper (there is less friction). This results in erosion through abrasion and hydarulic action to form large river cliffs.
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Meander (inside bend)
The current is slower because the channel is shallow (lots of friction). Eroded material is deposited due to the river's lack of energy to form slip-off slopes..
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Ox Bow Lake
Erosion causes the outside bends to get closer until it forms a tight loop. During a flood, the river breaks through the remaining land, flowing along the short and direct route. Deposition then cuts off the meander to form an ox bow lake.
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Levees
When a river floods, water slows down. Heavy material is deposited close to the channel as the river starts to lose energy and lighter material is carried further onto the floodplain. When this process repeats, levees are formed.
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Floodplains
Meanders migrate/move acrpss the floodplain, making it wider. Migrating downstream, causes the floodplain to flatten.. Deposition at slip-off slopes also builds up the floodplain as well as lateral erosion.
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Estuaries
Water at the mouth is tidal (it rises and falls). The water floods over the banks carrying silt and sand. At high tide, water is moving slowly, so the sediment is deposited. Over time, more mud builds up and at low tide, the mudflats are exposed.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Watershed

Back

An area of highland that separated one drainage basin to another

Card 3

Front

Source

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Tributary

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Confluence

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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