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  • Same erosion processes as coast
  • Same transportation as coast
  • Watershed - area of high land forming the edge of a river basin
  • Source - where the river begins
  • Mouth - where a river meets the sea
  • Confluence - where two rivers meet
  • Tributary - small river or stream that joins a larger river
  • Channel - where the river flows
  • Long Profile - view of river from source to mouth - upper course, middle course, lower course
  • Cross Profile - cross section of a channel or valley
  • Vertical Erosion - eroded downward
  • Lateral Erosion - eroded lateraly
  • Waterfall - sudden drop on river course 
    • Soft rock gets eroded quicker than hard rock creating a step
    • Hard rock forms an overhang
    • Abrasion and hydraulic action cause a plunge pool
    • An increase in size causes the overhang to collapse, leaving a waterfall
  • Meanders 
    • Rivers flow round a bend and the water pushes on the outside
    • Lateral erosion on the bend causes a river cliff
    • Water on the inside is slower so deposits material
    • Causes bends in the river
  • Oxbow Lake
    • Erosion makes a narrow neck
    • During floods, the river takes the shortest course, through the neck
    • Creates a new straighter river course
    • Leaves a cut off section = oxbow lake
  • Levees - in the lower course 
    • Sediment in the water gets deposited into the flood plains when there's a flood
    • Builds up over time

River Processes

Emily Pine
Module by Emily Pine, updated more than 1 year ago
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