River Processes

Learning objectives
• Demonstrate an understanding of the work of a river in eroding, transporting, and
depositing.

A river channel is the outline of a river’s path referring to its bed (floor) and banks (sides)
or the route course (between bed and banks) that a river flow.
Bed: the bottom of the river channel.
Bank: The sides of the river channel. A river has two banks.

Rivers have three main roles.

• To erode the river channel
• To transport materials
• To deposit material.

Rivers shape the land through processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition. The
processes are greatest in large rivers or at times of flood.

River erosion
This is when the river wears away and removes material from its banks and bed. Erosion
also involves the breaking down of the rock particles being carried downstream by the river.
Erosion makes the channel deeper and wider.
DRAW: Ways by which rivers erode their banks and bed
• Corrasion/abrasion
In this case, the river uses the sediment/load it is carrying to wear out the bed and banks by
rubbing the load onto the bed and banks. This is the most effective method used by rivers
especially during floods when the river’s load increases.
It is the process that forms potholes:- pebbles may become trapped by the uneven riverbed
(hollows). As the water swirls in a typical turbulent flow, the pebbles are forced to move in a
circular motion. This way pebbles drill into the riverbed, rocks enlarging the potholes.

• Hydraulic action
This takes place when the force of moving water pushes water into the rock cracks on the
bank. The air in the cracks is compressed to great limits and this forces the river rocks to
collapse.
Hydraulic action can be caused by the shear force of flowing water especially below the
waterfall or a rapid is enough to dislodge consolidated sediments and weaker rocks.

• Attrition
This occurs when the material moved along the riverbed collides with other material and
breaks into smaller, rounder, and smoother particles.

• Corrosion/solution
This is removal of chemical ions, especially calcium which causes rocks to dissolve. It is a
quite effective where water has high erosivity levels (large concentration of carbonic,
sulphuric, nitric and humic acids) and where geology making up the bed and banks is highly
erodible e.g., limestone, chalk, sandstone etc.

NB- As the river erodes its channel using the above methods it is able to extend its channel,
vertically(vertical erosion), laterally (lateral erosion) and towards its source (headward
erosion)
Vertical erosion is the wearing away of the floor of a river (riverbed) and results in a river
getting deeper. In this case the channel’s erosional processes are concentrated onto the
riverbed. Vertical erosion is common in the upper course of the river due to steep gradient
that allows the fast-moving water to attack the bed of the river and the fact that streams are
underloaded (less energy). Landforms such as deep, narrow, V-shaped valleys and rapids
are formed.
Lateral erosion is the wearing away of the sides of a river (riverbanks) and results in a river
getting wider. The channel’s erosional processes are concentrated onto the riverbanks.
Lateral erosion is common in the middle and lower course of the river where the increase of
water volume provides the river with full load (more energy) of sediments that allows it to
attack its banks.
Lateral erosion may be assisted by weathering and mass wasting operating on the valley
slopes.
Headward erosion is active at the source/ head of the river or at the point where the river’s
long profile is locally steep e.g., at a waterfall.

DRAW:
River Transportation
This is the movement of eroded material downstream. The material includes sand particles,
pebbles, and even large boulders.

DRAW: The main four river transport processes

Traction

This together with saltation is commonly referred to as bedload.

This is the process that moves the largest sized particles, for example cobbles and boulders,
by rolling them along the riverbed.
• large boulders and rocks are rolled or dragged along the riverbed by the force of
water.

It usually takes place during floods when the rivers energy increases significantly.
Saltation

This is the movement of sand and pebbles where they are temporarily lifted from the riverbed
and thrown into the water current but later bounce back onto the riverbed.
• small pebbles and stones are bounced along the riverbed in a leap-frogging
movement

Such movement occurs because the particles are too heavy to be suspended in the water
body, but at the same time too light to remain on the riverbed as traction load.

Suspension

This is the way very fine particles, clay, and silt, are moved within the moving body of water.
The greater the rivers velocity and turbulence the larger the quantity of clay and silt that are
transported.
• fine light material is lifted/carried up along in the river water for longer distances. The
material may discolour the water.
• Suspension Load gives the water its colour, depending on the on the local soils.

Solution

This is the movement of dissolved material within the water. Usually, the water would be
carrying dissolved limestone, chalk, or dolomite.
• minerals are dissolved in the water and carried along in solution. This typically occurs
in areas where the underlying bedrock is limestone.
Learning tip: Rivers need energy to transport material, and levels of energy change as the river
moves from source to mouth.
• When energy levels are very high, large rocks and boulders can be transported.
Energy levels are usually higher near a river's source when its course is steep and
its valley narrow. Energy levels rise even higher in times of flood.
• When energy levels are low, only small particles can be transported (if any). Energy
levels are lowest when velocity drops as a river enters a lake or sea (at the mouth).
River Deposition

Deposition is the processes where material being transported by a river is laid down. When
a river loses energy, it will drop or deposit some of the material it is carrying. Deposition
usually occurs when:

• There is a reduction in the gradient of the river, for example when the river meeting
a lake or a sea., often forming a delta.
• Deposition may take place when a river enters an area of shallow water or when the
volume of water decreases - for example, after a flood or during times of drought.
• There is shallow water, for example on the inside of a meander
• There is an increase in the size of the load. This may be due to a tributary bringing in
larger particles. The river is forced to slow down resulting in deposition.
• When the river floods and overflows its banks, resulting in a reduced velocity on the
flood plain outside the main channel.
In general, the largest and heavier material (large boulders are the first to be deposited,
followed by smaller particles (silt and clay) carried further downstream.

DRAW: