IGCSE Geography Rivers Flashcards

material carried in the river scrapes and wears away at the river bed, causing the river to widen and deepen

rocks in the flow of the water knock against each other, causing rounder and smaller loads

roots of plants grow in the cracks of a rock and splits it

• less vertical erosion; more lateral erosion

• deeper wider

• deposition at inside band

• narrow and shallow

• vertical erosion

weathering by acid rain, causing decay

• alters ecosystem

• flood downstream

• expensive

• destructions

• traps sediment > dam failure

• expensive

• breaching

soil moves slowly

deposition occurs when the river doesn't have enough energy to carry the material any further

an area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

• loss of wildlife

• land slides

• destroy vegtation

• spread pollutants

wearing away and removal of rocks by the action of water wind or ice

1. size of basin

2. vegetation

3. rainfall

4. land saturation

5. steepness

6. human land use (urbanisation)

1. rock type

2. human land use

3. relief

4. external climate

reduction of gradient reduction in volume of water increasing friction from bed and banks

• main channel

• confluence

• tributaries

• watershed

• estuary

• source

> cap rock > overhang > less resistant rock > scree > plunge pool > gorge

• outbreak of waterborne diseases

• injuries, deaths

• loss of properties

• destroy infrastructures

• contamination

• expensive rebuilding

flow of water at the aquifer until it reaches the river

• dams

• levees

• channelisation

• floor barriers

70% agricultural 20% industrial 10% domestic

• urbanisation

• deforestation

• agriculture

• soil erosion

• climate change

water is forced into cracks in the bed and pressure expands the cracks further

the global circulation of water between the atmosphere, lidosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere

> precipitation > interception > stem flow/drip tip > surfacae runoff > infiltration > through flow > percolation > groundwater flow > evapotranspiration > condensation

Downward movement of water through soil rock due to gravity.

the bulk movement of substance due to gravitational pull

• meander

• levees

• oxbow lakes

• prolonged period of intense rainfall

• rapid snowmelt

• impermeable rock

• steep relief > lower course flooding

• vegetation

caused by temperature or climate changes

Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth's surface.

• increase velocity and reduce friction

• prevent flooding downstream

• multi purpose

• can still use flood plain

erosion, transportation, deposition

big material falling fast

small material bounces in small hops along the river bed

material slides along bedding planes

• land use planning

• afforestation

river water reacts with alkaline in the bed and banks dissolving them

soluble material dissolved in river water and transported downstream

fine loads being carried along by the river flow

• flooded 13 cities, 140 towns, 1350 villages

• 1.4 million people relocated

• temples and monuments destroyed

• polluted by industrial wastes

• 3000 earthquakes since building of dam

• loss of wildlife; Yangtze Dolphins

• expensive $131.3 million

• 2009

• Yangtze River

• 185 km high

• 2 km wide

• 600 km far; ShangHai to ChongQing

• reduced flooding risk

• 6% of China's energy

• flood control for WuHan

• irrigation

• navigation

• tourism

the flow of water between ground surface and the top of ground water store, moves slowly under the influence of gravity until it reaches a body of water

heavy material is rolled along the river bed

the movement of material downstream. The bigger the material the more energy the river needs to carry it

rockfall, slamping, creeping

traction, solution, suspension, saltation

physical, chemical, biological

> V-shaped valleys > interlocking spurs > waterfalls and gorges

Water that is not directly consumed but is used to produce food and other products.

• collection

• purification

• delivery

fertiliser leaching eutrophication increased bacteria growth and deoxygenation

• chemical run-off

• oil spillage

• factory wastes

• offshore dumping of sewage sludge

• domestic untreated sewage

• chlorinated swimming pools

• filtration and sedimentation

• bacterial disinfection

• microorganisms: chlorination

• minerals: aeration

the breaking down or dissolving of rocks in situ