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1. RIVERS REVISION
Key words and meaning:
Hydraulic Action – The force of the river against the banks. The pressure
weakens the banks and gradually wears it away.
Attrition –Rocks being carriedby the river smashtogether andbreak into
smaller, smoother androunder pieces.
Abrasion – Rocks carriedalong by the river wear down the river bedand
banks
Solution – Soluble particles are dissolvedintothe river.
Traction – Large boulders and rocks are rolledalong the river bed.
Saltation – Small pebbles andstones are bounced along the river bed.
Suspension – Fine light material is carriedalong inthe water.
Solution – Minerals are dissolvedintothe water andcarriedalong in the
solution.
Features formedby river erosionanddeposition
River Erosion Deposition Both
Waterfalls FloodPlains Meanders
Gorges Deltas Ox-BowLakes
V shaped valleys Levees
EROSION
TRANSPORTATION

2. Action Definition
Evaporation Water turning intowater vapour
Transpiration The loss of water from the leaves of
plants
Precipitation The depositionof water from the
atmosphere inliquidor solidform
Surface Runoff All water flowing on the Earths
surface
Evapotranspiration The sum of evaporationfrom the
Earths surface together withthe
transpirationfromplants
Infiltration Seeping of water intothe soil
Sustainable Capable of existing inthe long term
Through-Flow The movement of water throughthe
soil
Ground Water Flow The movement of water underground
throughrocks
Interception Collectionof water by vegetation
Water Table The upper level of undergroundtable

3. Confluence Where tworivers meet
Drainage Basin The area drainedby a river and its
tributaries
Mouth Where a river flows intothe sea
Source Where the river begins
Tributary A smaller river whichflows intoa
larger river
Water Shed The imaginary line surrounding a
drainage basin
Deltas
Some rivers reach the sea in deltas, which
form where river mouths become choked
with sediment, causing the main
river channel to split into hundreds of
smaller channels or distributaries.
Deltas only form under certain conditions
 The river must be transporting a
large amount of sediment
 The sea must have a small tidal
range and weak currents
The sea must be shallow at the river mouth
The Formation of Ox Bow Lakes
In the lower course the meanders become
even larger. Erosion on the outside of bends
and deposition on the slip off
slopes CONTINUE to take place.
The erosion causes the meander neck to
narrow until eventually it breaks through.
This often takes place when the river has
more energy as in times of flood.
The river now follows a straight path. After the meander
has been cut through the river seals off the bend
by DEPOSITION and an ox-bow lake is formed. In
time, especially in dry areas the ox-bow lake may dry
up to form a meander scar.

4. A meander is a winding curve or bend in a river. They are typical of the middle and
lower course of a river. This is because vertical erosion is replaced by a sideways
form of erosion called LATERAL erosion, plus deposition within the floodplain.
Levees are basically caused by floods. In times
of low flow ANY DEPOSITIONtakes place on the
river bed and this raises the height of the river
bed. In times of flood the water leaves the
channel. As it does so it loses energy and the
courser and heavier material
is DEPOSITED near to the river on the banks.
Finer material is carried further onto the flood
plain. After many floods the river builds a bank
on either side of the river and this can lead to
catastrophes. As the river has been raised above
the flood plain and the banks are often higher
still, when the river floods the water can no
longer drain back into the river channel and often
has to form a new one.
The river is now nearing the sea
and DEPOSITION becomes the dominant
process.
The main features of the river channel and river
valley are:
 It is wide and deep with a moreefficient
shaped channel
 It is lined with sand and mud so this
results in less friction
 There maybe islands of silt called eyots in
the river and the river can split into a
number of channels - river braiding
 The river carries a large load of alluvium
 There is a wide, flat flood plain either side
of the river
 There are features such as meanders, ox
bow lakes and deltas
 The flood plain is made up of a thick layer
of alluvium
 A line of river cliffs are found at the edge
of the flood plain called bluffs
The Flood Plain

5. Flooding In Poorer And Richer Area Case Study
Flooding In A RichArea(Cumbria, November 2009)
31.4cm of rain in 24hrs
Ground already saturated
1 person killed
Many evacuated, 1300 homes flooded
4 bridges damaged and cost of repairs over £100m
200 people rescued from their homes by emergency services
UK government gave £1m for repairs and clean-up
Flooding In A Poor Country (Pakistan, July 2010)
Unusually heavy monsoon rains
Rivers burst their banks, 69000km2 affected
1600 people killed
20 million people affected
700,000 homes flooded
$4 billion cost of repair
Rescue of 350,000 people by Pakistan military
3 months later, 7 million people were still without adequate shelter
EFFECTS OF FLOODS ON:
People – Death, disease, damage to property, insurance claims and disruption to transport
The Environment – Landslides, loss of wildlife habitats, crops lost, soil erosion and
contamination of water supplies.

6. Managing Water Supply
The Elan Valley Reservoirs in Powys
It was built in 1893 and supplies Birmingham with clean, safe
drinking water.
Economic Issues
1. Creates jobs in Wales
2. Generates electricity but costs a
lot to build and maintain
Social Issues
1. Popular with school visits
2. Reduced spread of water-
borne diseases in Victorian
Birmingham
Environmental Issues
o Valleys were flooded to
create reservoirs, but
now many species rely
of it