Rivers

Rivers

Common Features
1. River Source
  1. The place where a river begins
2. Tributary
  1. A stream or river which joins a larger river
3. Estuary
  1. The place where a river enters the sea,a lake or other river
4. Confluence
  1. A place where two or more rivers meet
5. River mouth
  1. The part of a river which connects to the sea
6. Drainage Basin
  1. Total area drained by a river and it's tributaires
7. Watershed
  1. The high ground which separates one river basin from another
8. River course
  1. The route taken by a river between it's source and it's mouth
Three stages of a river
1. The youthful stage
  1. Youthful rivers are small in volume and generally erode the land over which they flow
    1. How rivers erode
      1. Hydraulic Action
        The force of the water hitting against the bed and banks of the river and breaking pieces off which is carried in the load of the river
      2. Abrasion
        The load of the river hitting against the bed of a river and eroding it away
      3. Attrition
        When the stones in the rivers load hit off the bedrock and banks but they themselves are worn down
      4. Solution
        When chemicals in the water gradually break down the rock e.g calcium carbonate wears away limestone
  2. V-shaped Valleys
  3. Interlocking spurs
  4. Waterfalls
2. The mature stage
  1. Valley Troughs
    1. Wide-floored valleys with gently sloping sides
  2. Meanders
3. The old age stage
  1. Flood Plains
  2. Levees
  3. Ox-bow lakes
  4. Deltas

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	Created by texttoffee over 10 years ago