Rivers

• Hydraulic action is the power of moving water hitting riverbanks can weaken rocks and lead to collapse
• Attrition is where flowing water pushes pebbles and rocks against each other, making them smoother and decreasing their size
• River systems undergo a process of erosion, transportation and deposition of sediment as they flow from the source to the mouth.
• Vertical erosion is the process by which the river cuts downwards into the riverbed, deepening the channel.
• Solution is the process by which the river water dissolves soluble minerals from rocks and carries them away.
• Suspension is the process by which small particles, such as silt and clay, are carried in the water without touching the riverbed.
• Traction is the process by which large boulders and rocks are rolled along the riverbed by the force of the flowing water.
• Lateral erosion is the process by which a river erodes its banks sideways, widening the channel.
• Oxbow lakes are formed when a meander in a river is cut off from the main channel, creating a U-shaped lake.
• A gorge is a narrow and steep-sided valley formed by the erosion of a river.
• A meander is a bend or curve in a river formed by erosion and deposition of sediment.
• A levee is a raised bank of sediment along the sides of a river channel, formed by the deposition of sediment during floods.
• Traction is the process by which large and heavy particles, such as boulders, are rolled along the riverbed by the force of the flowing water.
• Abrasion is the process by which rock particles carried by the river scrape and rub against the riverbed, wearing it away.
• A floodplain is the flat, low-lying area adjacent to a river that is subject to flooding during periods of high discharge.
• A meander is a bend or curve in a river, formed as the river erodes its outer bank and deposits sediment on its inner bank.
• A distributary is a branch of a river that flows away from the main channel and into another body of water.
• A levee is a natural or artificial embankment that prevents a river from overflowing its banks.
• The long profile of a river is a way of displaying the channel slope of a river along its entire course. It shows how a river looses height with increasing distance towards the sea
• In shallow water there is lots of friction with the bed and banks of the river, slowing the flow down
• Where a channel narrows the river becomes deeper, and the flow is faster
• Downstream the river is deeper as more water is added by tributaries
• As you go downstream the river channel becomes wider and deeper
• As you go downstream the valley becomes flatter and wider
• As you go downstream the valley sides become less steep and are no longer v- shaped
• Weathering breaks down rocks
• Abrasion, attrition, solution and hydraulic action are the four main processes of erosion
• Abrasion wears away the bed and banks of a river
• Attrition pushes pebbles and rocks against each other
• Hydraulic action is when moving water hits riverbanks weakening rocks
• Solution is where minerals are dissolved in the water