Name: Deiandre Rodgers Date:

12/10/21

Student Exploration: River Erosion

Vocabulary: cutbank, discharge, erosion, flood,

floodplain, meander, meandering river, oxbow lake,
point bar, river speed, sediments, slope,
streambank, streambed, tributary, weathering

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE

using the Gizmo.)

1. The image above shows a raging mountain river in full flood. What do you think is making

the water brown in color? The water is brown because it is carrying sediments.

2. What impact do you think the flooding river will have on the surrounding landscape?
Flooding might erode riverbanks, destroy houses and roads, and deepen the river valley

Gizmo Warm-up
If you stand by the bank of a river, it may seem that very little is
happening. But over thousands and even millions of years,
rivers can have a profound effect on the landscape. In the River
Erosion Gizmo, you will see how rivers move materials and how
they affect landscapes.

To begin, check that Mountain stream and Short-term erosion are selected. The Gizmo
shows a typical stream that is moving through a hilly area.

1. The two movie cameras ( ) allow you to observe different parts of the stream up close.

Click on the left movie camera. What do you see? . I see a rocky streambed, Small particles

are being carried by the current.

2. Sediments are small rock fragments such as sand or pebbles. What evidence do you see

that sediments are being transported? Sediments are moving from left to right.

3. Now select the right movie camera to see the bank of the mountain stream. What is

happening to sediments on the bank? Some sediments are falling into the stream.

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity A:  Check that Mountain stream and Short-term
erosion are selected.
Mountain streams
 If necessary, click outside the circle to close the
zoomed-in view.

Introduction: Erosion occurs when sediments and other materials are moved from one place
to another. Along with weathering, which is the breakdown of large rocks into smaller
sediments, erosion can have a profound impact on the landscape.

Question: How does river erosion affect landscapes in the mountains?

1. Label: First, get to know some of the V-shaped

different parts of a mountain stream. Turn valley
on Show labels. Label the image to the
right, then fill in the word that goes with
each description. waterfall

A small stream that flows into a larger Tributary

stream: tributary
Streambed
A place along a stream where water drops
Streambank
straight down: Waterfall

A letter that describes the shape of a typical mountain valley: V

The side of a stream: Streambank The bottom of a stream:

Streambed

2. Observe: Turn off Show labels. Next to “Release barrel,” click Play ( ). Observe how fast
the barrel moves as it floats down the stream.
 What happens when the barrel goes over the waterfall? The barrel speeds up

3. Calculate: The two red flags are 100 meters apart. The time at which the barrel passes the
flag is shown. Remember, there are 60 seconds in a minute.

A. How many seconds did it take for the barrel to go 100 meters? 91 seconds

B. To find the barrel’s speed, use a calculator to divide the distance traveled (100 m) by
the time it took the barrel to float 100 m. The units are meters per second (m/s).

What is the speed of the barrel? 1.1 m/s

(Activity A continued on next page)

Activity A (continued from previous page)

4. Record: Click Reset ( ). Turn on Show data.

A. The slope of the channel is how steep it is, or how many meters the streambed

drops for every horizontal kilometer. What is the slope of the stream? 22 m/km

B. River speed is a measure of how fast water flows. What is the river speed? 1.1 m/s

C. How does the river speed compare to the speed of the barrel you calculated on the

previous page? The river speed is the same as the barrel speed.

D. Discharge is the water volume that flows past a given point every second, measured

in cubic meters per second (m3/s). What is the stream’s discharge? 2.3 m/s

E. What types of sediments are transported by this stream? Sand, silt, clay.

Sediments are classified by size. The smallest sediments are clay particles, followed
by silt, sand, and pebbles. Larger sediments include cobbles and boulders.

5. Observe: Turn off Show data. Next to River flow, select Flood. Look at the landscape, and
then click on the movie cameras to see zoomed-in views. Describe what you notice below.

During the flood, the water level was higher and the water flowed faster than during normal
conditions. The water was brown in color. More sediments were carried by the water and
there was more erosion on the banks of the river.

6. Calculate: Click Play to release the barrel. How many seconds does it take the barrel to get
from one flag to the other? What is the speed of the barrel?

Time: 31 s Speed: 3.2 m/s

7. Compare: Turn on Show data. During a flood, how do the river speed, discharge, and
transported sediments compare to normal flow conditions?

The river speed increased from 1.1 m/s to 3.2 m/s. the discharge increased from 2.3 m/s to
26.4 m/s and the sediments transported changed from sand, silt, and clay to pebbles, sand,
silt, and clay.
 Get the Gizmo ready:
Activity B:
 Select Meandering river.
Meandering rivers  Select Short-term erosion, Low vegetation, and
Normal river flow. Turn off Show data.

Introduction: Meandering rivers are found in flatter areas. Unlike the V-shaped mountain
valleys, the valleys of meandering rivers have wide, flat bottoms called floodplains.

Question: How does river erosion affect landscapes in hilly or flat areas?

1. Label: Turn on Show labels. Label the

image to the right, then fill in the word that
goes with each description. floodplain

A large S-shaped bend in a river: Cutbank

Meander
Point bar
Meander

A flat area next to the river: Floodplain

A steep stream bank on the outside of a

bend in the river: Cutbank

A gently sloping deposit of sediments on the inside of a bend in the river: Point bar

2. Observe: Turn off Show labels. Click Play to release the barrel. Observe the path of the
barrel as it floats down the river. (The flags are 100 meters apart.)

A. How many seconds did it take for the barrel to go 100 meters? (Remember, there

are 60 seconds in a minute.) 125 seconds

B. What is the speed of the barrel? 0.8 m/s

C. Turn on Show path. Did the barrel stay in the center of the river or go from side to

side? The barrel drifted from side to side

 D. As the barrel went around each meander, did it stay closer to the point bars or the

cutbanks? The barrel stayed closer to the cutbanks

In a meandering river, the water flows faster on the outside of a meander, near the
cutbank, and moves more slowly near the point bar on the inside of the meander.
The current carries the barrel toward the cutbanks and away from the point bars.

(Activity B continued on next page)

Activity B (continued from previous page)

3. Compare: Click Reset. Turn on Show data. List the slope, speed, discharge, and
transported sediments of the meandering river. Then select Mountain stream and fill in the
remainder of the table. Change back to the Meandering river and compare the values.

Meandering
In what ways is a meandering Mountain
river different from a mountain stream?
river stream
Slope 1 m/km 22 m/km A meandering river has a gentle slope, a
Speed 0.8 m/s 1.1 m/s slower speed, and a greater discharge
than a mountain stream. The
Discharge 187 m/s 2.3 m/s
meandering river does not transport
Transporte sand.
Sand, Silt,
d Silt, clay
and Clay
sediments

4. Observe: Turn off Show data. Click the right movie camera to see the cutbank. Look at the

sediments just above the water. What do you see? Sediments are falling into the river

Now select the left movie camera to see the point bar. Look at the sediments in the water.

What do you notice? Sediments are being deposited on the point bar.

Erosion occurs at the cutbank, where water is moving faster. As a result, cutbanks are steep
and often overhanging. Sediments are deposited in the slow-moving water near point bars.

5. Compare: Click in the simulation area to turn off the movie camera. Select Flood.

A. The flat area surrounding the river is called a floodplain. Why do you think it has this

name? This area is covered by water during a flood.

B. Why might it be a bad idea to build a house in a floodplain? If a flood occurs, the
house might be damaged by water.
 C. Turn on Show data. How do flood conditions differ from normal conditions? The river
speed and discharge are greater during a flood, and larger sediment.

D. Look at the two close-up views. What do you notice? During a flood, more sediments
are being carried by the water. Sediments are no longer deposited on the point bar.
The flood also carries tree branches.

Activity C: Get the Gizmo ready:

Long-term  Select Mountain stream.
erosion  Select Long-term erosion and Low vegetation.

Introduction: Both in the mountains and in flatter areas, river erosion can cause large changes
to the landscape over time. In this activity, you will observe some of these changes.

Question: How do rivers change landscapes over long periods of time?

1. Predict: How do you think the mountain valley will change over time? will vary

2. Observe: Click Play. Observe the valley for 200,000 simulated years. What do you notice?

The valley gets deeper over time. The valley walls become smoother. The waterfall moves
upstream from right to left and becomes shorter.

3. Analyze: Click Reset. Turn on Show data. Record the slope, speed, and discharge of the
stream. Click Play, wait until the end of the simulation, and record the same data.
 Year Channel slope River speed Discharge
0 22 m/km 1.1 m/s 2.3 m/s
200,000 14 m/km 0.8 m/s 2.8 m/s

How does the stream data change over time? The channel slope decreases, the river speed
decreases and the discharge increases.

4. Observe: Click Reset. Click the movie camera to see a side view of the valley. Click Play.

Over time, does the valley erode downward or side to side? Downward

5. Compare: Click Reset. Next to Vegetation, select High. Click Play. Compare the end result
of 200,000 years of erosion with high vegetation to erosion with low vegetation.

Which landscape eroded more, and why do you think this is so? It looks like the low
-vegetation landscapes eroded more.

(Activity C continued on next page)

Activity C (continued from previous page)

6. Predict: Click Reset. Select Meandering river and Low vegetation. How do you think the

meandering river valley will change over time? Will vary

7. Observe: Click Play. Observe the valley for 2,000 simulated years. (The time frame is much
shorter for the meandering river valley because changes occur faster there.)

A. What do you notice? The meanders grow wider over time and the hills get lower.
Eventually the river breaks through the neck of a meander and a lake is formed.

B. Over time, do the meanders grow wider or narrower? The meander grows wider.

C. How does the width of the floodplain change over time? The floodplain grows wider.

D. Turn on Show labels. What feature is formed when the river breaks through the

narrowest part of the meander? An oxbow lake is formed.

E. Click Reset. Turn on Show data. Click Play and observe the river data.

How does the river data change over time? The channel slope and river speed
decreases slightly. The river discharge increases slightly.

8. Observe: Click Reset. Click the movie camera to see a side view of the valley.

A. What do you notice about the shape of the river channel? The channel is deeper on
the left side than on the right side near the point bar.
 B. Click Play. Does the channel erode downward or side to side? Side to side

Meandering rivers cause little downward erosion. Instead, the channel moves
sideways as sediments are eroded from the cutbank and deposited on the point bar.

9. Compare: Click Reset. Next to Vegetation, select High. Click Play. Compare the end result
of 2,000 years of erosion with high vegetation to erosion with low vegetation. Which
landscape eroded more, and why do you think this is so?

The landscape with low vegetation eroded more. Vegetation slows erosion because the
plant roots hold down soil on riverbanks. plants also help to shield soil from rain and other
effects of weather.