geography rivers

• Hydrological cycle involves the continuous circulation of water in the earth-atmosphere system
• Evaporation is caused by heat from the sun, leading to water in water bodies evaporating and rising through the air as water vapour
• Condensation occurs as water vapour rises, cools, and condenses into water droplets
• Precipitation happens when water droplets gather to form clouds, which release water back into the earth's surface when they become too heavy
• Interception is the interruption of water movement onto the earth's surface by obstructions like plants and buildings
• Interception loss is when water is retained by plant surfaces and later evaporated or absorbed by the plant
• Stemflow is the flow of intercepted water down the trunk or stem of a plant
• Throughfall is water that flows through gaps in the vegetation
• Infiltration is the process by which some of the water that falls onto the ground seeps into the soil
• Percolation is when water flows through the soil and into underlying rock layers
• Surface runoff/overland flow is water that does not infiltrate into the ground and flows over the earth's surface down mountains and hills
• Transpiration is the movement of water from the soil to the atmosphere through plants
• Groundwater storage is a permanently saturated layer, with the upper layer known as the water table
• Aquifers are permeable rocks containing significant amounts of water
• Drainage basin is an area where water drains downhill into a body of water like a river or lake
• Drainage divide/watershed is the line separating different areas drained by different river systems
• Tributaries are smaller rivers that join a larger river
• Confluence is the point where a smaller river branches into channels at a delta
• Floodplain is land areas adjacent to rivers that often flood
• Source is the beginning of a river
• Mouth is where the river empties its water
• Course is the path the river takes from source to mouth
• River discharge is the volume of water flowing through a point in the river at a given time
• Attrition occurs when rocks carried in the river collide, making them smaller, rounder, and smoother
• Abrasion happens when rocks hit against the side and bottom of the river bed, dislodging rocks and carrying them away
• Corrosion is caused by acidic water reacting with certain types of rocks like limestone
• Hydraulic action occurs when water and air force into cracks of rocks, causing them to break away
• Traction is the rolling of large rocks and material along the river bed
• Saltation is when rocks are bounced along the river bed
• Suspension is the transportation of lighter material within the river flow
• Solution is when materials dissolved in water are transported along the river
• Long profile shows changes in the river gradient from source to mouth
• Cross profiles are cross-sections of a river from one bank to another
• Formation of potholes involves currents and turbulence swirling pebbles and cobbles in the hollows of the river bed, drilling holes and widening them
• Formation of waterfalls occurs as soft rock erodes quicker than hard rock, undercutting it and forming a plunge pool
• Formation of meanders is due to water flowing fastest on the outside of river bends, leading to erosion and deposition on the inside, causing the meander to migrate across the valley
• Formation of oxbow lakes is a result of a meander neck narrowing due to erosion, and the river cutting through during floods, forming a straighter course and slower flow, leading to deposition and the formation of an oxbow lake
• Formation of floodplains and levees involves heavy rain causing high discharge, leading to river overflow and deposition of material forming floodplains and levees
• Deltas form as a river enters a larger body of water, slowing down and depositing gravel, sand, and silt, eventually forming a delta with distributaries
• Soft engineering involves using the natural environment to prevent flooding