Water on the Land-Key Words

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Channel
The part of the river valley occupied by the water itself
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Hydraulic action
The power of the volume of water moving in the river
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Abrasion
Occurs when larger load carried by the river hits the bed and banks, causing bits to break off
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Attrition
Load carried by the river knocks into other parts of the load, so bits break off and make the material smaller
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Solution
The dissolving of certain types of rock such as chalk and limestone by rainwater. This is a means of transportation as well as an erosion process
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Load
Material of any size carried by the river
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Traction
The rolling along of the largest rocks and boulders
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Saltation
The bouncing movement of small stones and grains of sand along the river bed
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Suspension
Small material carried within the river
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Long Profile
A line representing the course of the river from its source (relatively high up) to its mouth where it ends, usually in a lake or the sea, and the changes in height along its course
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Cross profile
A line that represents what it would be like to walk from one side of a valley, across the channel and up the other side
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Waterfall
The sudden, and often vertical, drop of a river along its course
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Gorge
A narrow, steep-sided valley
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Meander
A bend or curve in the river channel, often becoming sinuous where the loops are exaggerated
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Oxbow Lake
A horseshoe or semi-circular area that represents the former course of a meander. Oxbow lakes are cut off from a supply of water and so will eventually become dry
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Floodplain
The flat area adjacent to the river channel, especially in the lower part of the course. This is created as a natural area for water to spill onto when the river reaches the top of its banks
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Levees
Raised banks along the course of a river in its lower course. They are formed naturally but can be artifcially made
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Precipitation
Any source of moisture reaching the ground, eg: rain, snow, frost
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Interception
Water being prevented from reaching the surface by trees or grass
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Surface storage
Water held on the ground surface, eg: puddles
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Infiltration
Water sinking into soil/rock from the ground surface
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Soil moisture
Water held in the soil layer
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Percolation
Water seeping deeper below the surface
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Groundwater
Water stored in the rock
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Transpiration
Water lost through pores in vegetation
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Evaporation
Water lost from ground/vegtation surface
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Surface run-off(overland flow)
Water flowing on top of the ground
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Throughflow
Water flowing through the soil layer parallel to the surface
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Groundwater flow
Water flowing through the rock layer parallel to the surface
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Water table
Current upper level of saturated rock/soil where no more water can be absorbed
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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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Drainage basin
Area from which a river gets its water. The boundary is marked by an imaginary line of highland known as watershed
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Flood or storm hydrograph
A line graph drawn to show the discharge in a river in the aftermath of a period of rain
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Flashy
A hydrograph that responds quickly to a period of rain so that it characteristically has a high peak and a short lag time
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Relief
Height and slope of land
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Impermeable
Rock that does not allow water to soak into it
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Pervious
Rock that allows water to pass through it via vertical joints and horizontal bedding planes
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Urbanisation
The increase in the proportion of people living in cities, resulting in their growth
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Floods
These occur when a river carries so much water that it cannot be contained by its banks and so it overflows on to surrounding land-its floodplain
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Hazard
An event that occurs where people's lives and property are threatened and deaths and/or damage result
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Soil erosion
The removal of the layer of soil above the rock where plants grow
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Hard engineering
This stratgey involves the use of technology in order to try to control rivers
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Soft enginerring
This option tries to work within the constraints of the natural river system and involves avoiding building on areas especially likely to flood, warning people of an impending flood and planting trees to increase lag time
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Multi-purpose project
A large-scale venture with more than one aim. Many water projects relate to flood control, water supply, irrigation and navigation
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Straightening meanders
These occur when the natural curve in a rivers course is left as the river follows an artificially more direct course that has been created for it, speeding up its flow out of an area
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Floodplain zoning
Controlling what is built on the floodplain so that areas that are at risk of flooding have low-value land uses
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Water stress
This occurs when the amont of water avaliable does not meet that required. This may be due to an inadequate supply at a particular time or it may relate to water quality
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Areas of deficit
Locations where the rain that falls does not provide enough water on a permanent basis. Shortages may occur under certain conditions, e.g long periods without rain
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Areas of surplus
Areas that have more water than is needed-often such areas receive a high rainfall total, but have a relatively small population
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Sustainable
Ensuring that the provision of water is long term and that supplies can be maintained without harming the environment
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Conservation
The thoughtful use of resources; managing the landscape in order to protect existing ecosystems and cultural features
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

The power of the volume of water moving in the river

Back

Hydraulic action

Card 3

Front

Occurs when larger load carried by the river hits the bed and banks, causing bits to break off

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Load carried by the river knocks into other parts of the load, so bits break off and make the material smaller

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The dissolving of certain types of rock such as chalk and limestone by rainwater. This is a means of transportation as well as an erosion process

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

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