River processes

Question	Answer
Erosion	Wearing away of a river's bed and banks
Deposition	Energy loss causes a river to drop (deposit) some of its load
Transportation	Rivers pick and and move eroded material downstream
Hydraulic action	water traps air in cracks in the river bed/banks. The pressure builds up and weakens the bed/banks which then get worn away
Attrition	Rocks smash together, getting smaller and more rounded
Abrasion	Rocks carried by the river wear away the bed/banks through a sandpaper motion
Solution/corrosion (erosion)	soluable particles are eroded by chemicals in the river's water
Solution (transportation)	Minerals dissolved in the water get carried along (we can't see them)
Suspension	Fine, light material is carried along in the water
Saltation	Smallish pebbles are bounced along the river bed
Traction	Large material is rolled along the river bed (not enough energy to pick it up)
Competence	The largest sized particle a river can transport
Capacity	The maximum amount of material that a river can transport

Resource summary

	Created by Mr D Bishop about 10 years ago