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GCSE Geo River Environments Key terms
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- 1AbstractionRemoval of water from rivers, lakes or groundwater for human use.
- 2AttritionA process of erosion. The material is moved along the bed of a river, collides with other material, and breaks up into smaller pieces becoming rounder and smaller.
- 3Aquiferspermeable rock that can transfer or store below ground (ground water)
- 4Bedloadthe material carried by a river by being bounced or rolled along its bed.
- 5Base flowThat part of a rivers discharge fed by groundwater.
- 6Catchment areaDrainage basin
- 7Channel networkthe pattern of linked streams and rivers within a drainage basin
- 8Clean waterwater that is fit for human consumption and is therefore relatively free from pollutants
- 9ChannelThe part of a valley floor occupied by the flowing water of a stream or river.
- 10Channel networkThe system of tributary streams that join increasingly larger river channels in a drainage basin.
- 11Condensationwhen water vapour is cooled and changes state to form water droplets
- 12Confluencewhere two rivers/streams meet
- 13Corrasiona process of erosion, sometimes known as abrasion. This is when fine material rubs against the river bank and the floor of the channel. The bank is worn away, by a sand-papering action called abrasion, and collapses or the channel deepens.
- 14Corrosiona process of erosion. Some rocks forming the banks and bed of a river are dissolved by acids in the water
- 15Cumecscubic metres per second, the unit for river discharge
- 16Dam (& reservoir)A barrier (made on earth, concrete or stone) built across a valley to interrupt river flow and create a man?made lake (reservoir) to store water.
- 17DischargeThe quantity of water that passes a given point on a stream or river?bank within a given period of time.
- 18Drainage basinThe area drained by a river and its tributaries, bounded by a watershed.
- 19Depositionthe dropping of material that was being carried by a moving force, such as running water
- 20ErosionThe wearing down of the land by water, ice, wind and gravity.
- 21FloodWhen river discharge exceeds river channel capacity and water spills out of the channel onto the floodplain and other areas.
- 22Flood plainThat part of a valley floor either side of the river over which a river spreads depositing silt/allivium during seasonal floods.
- 23HydrographA graph on which variations in a rivers discharge are plotted against time.
- 24Hydrological cycleThe unending movement of water between land, sea and atmosphere.
- 25ImpermeableRocks that do not allow water to pass through them.
- 26Interlocking spursA series of ridges projecting out on alternate sides of a valley and around which a river winds its course.
- 27Hydraulic actiona process of erosion. The sheer force of water hitting the banks of a river and bed of the river causing material to be dislodged and carried away.
- 28LandformA physical feature with recognizable characteristics e.g. waterfall, meander, formed by specific processes such as erosion or deposition.
- 29LeveeA bank of sediment formed along the edge of a river channel deposited by floodwater.
- 30Mass?movementThe movement of weathered rock down slope due to gravity, without the direct action of running water.
- 31MeanderA pronounced bend in a river.
- 32Oxbow lakeA crescent shaped lake which form when a meander bend is cut off from the main river channel.
- 33PrecipitationThe deposition of moisture on the Earths surface, in the form of dew, frost, rain, hail, sleet or snow.
- 34River regimeThe variation (seasonal pattern) in river discharge over the course of a year.
- 35Pollutionthe presence of chemicals, dirt or other substances which have harmful or poisonous effects on aspects of the environment such as rivers and the air
- 36Reservoiran area where water is collected and stored for human use
- 37River cliffAn overhanging cliff that is found on the outer bend of a meander that is created due to lateral erosion of the bank of the river.
- 38Saltationa process of transportation. smaller stones are bounced along the bed of a river in a leap-frogging motion
- 39Shortage / surplusAreas where water supply is lower / higher than water demand from humans
- 40Slip off slopeSand and shingle deposited on inner bed of a meander, creating a slope, due to lateral erosion on the outer bend.
- 41Solutiona process of transportation. Dissolved material is transported by the river.
- 42StorePlaces within a system where materials or energy are held for a time. Water Stores are features, such as lakes, rivers and aquifers, that receive, hold and release water
- 43Storm flowthe increase in stream discharge caused by a period of intense rainfall
- 44StreamflowThe flow of surface water in a well?defined channel.
- 45Stream velocitythe speed at which water is flowing in a river at a given location and time
- 46Suspensiona process of transportation. Fine material, light enough in weight to be carried by the river. It is this material that discolours the water.
- 47Tractiona process of transportation. Large rocks and boulders are rolled along the bed of the river
- 48TransferFlows of water between stores in the hydrological cycle.
- 49Transportthe movement of a rivers load
- 50ValleyA linear depression in the landscape formed by erosion, usually with a river channel at its lowest point.
- 51Velocity (stream)The speed of water flow in the river channel.
- 52Water qualityA measure of how fit for human consumption water is. Polluted water has low water quality.
- 53WatershedThe dividing line between one drainage basin and another.
- 54Water tableThe level below which the ground is saturated with water
- 55WaterfallA river landform created by erosion, where water drops steeply/vertically as it flows over a band of hard rock runs across the river channel which is a cliff like feature.
- 56Watershedthe boundary between neighbouring drainage basins
- 57WeatheringThe chemical alteration and physical breakdown of rock by natural processes, without the involvement of any moving force
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- Descripción
- All the key terms in the topic river environments for IGCSE/GCSE Edexcel Geography:)
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- Hannah N
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