Chapter seven - Rivers

A river is a body of moving water that flows in a natural channel on the land. It flows
from a highland to a lowland, for example, from a mountain to a plain. A river’s flow is
affected by the force of Earth’s gravity.

River system components : source stream, tributaries, mouth and distributaries

Definitions :

River source - place where the river begins its flow.

Tributary - smaller streams that join a river.
River mouth - the place where a river empties into another body of water like a
lake.
Distributary - a river branch that flows away from the mainstream.
Drainage basin - the area of land which is drained by a river and its tributaries.
Watershed - an area or highland which separates water from flowing to different
water bodies.
Alluvial - describes the sand made by clay, sand or silt deposited by running
water.
Fluvial - found in or produced by a river.
Infiltration - the downward movement of water through the top surface of the
soil.
Channel - a passage of water that connects two larger bodies of water, some are
of human construction such as canals.
Erosion - geological process in which the materials on the Earth’s surface are
worn away through wind, water or other means.
Floodplain - a flat area on either side of a river which might be under water
during a flood.
Deposition - when sediments are dropped off or deposited to a different location.
Groundwater - water that exists underground in saturated zones beneath the
land surfaces.
Discharge - amount of water flowing through a river channel and is measured in
gallons per minute,
Runoff - when there is more water then the land can absorb and the excess water
flows into other bodies.
Canyon - Deep narrow valley, with a stream flowing through it.
Suspension - a liquid in which small particles of water are floating but not
dissolved.
Delta - any plain made up of material deposited by a river at its mouth.
Exotic stream - a stream in which most of its water is derived from other
drainage systems from other regions.

The hydrologic cycle -

A river system is an open system. It receives input in the form of rain, snow or
surface runoff through flow. The output of the river system goes into the sea or
atmosphere. A river system is a larger part of the hydrologic/water cycle.
The hydrologic cycle refers to the continuous movement of water from the atmosphere
to the land and from the land back to the atmosphere. This includes the following
processes

- precipitation - transpiration
- evaporation - condensation

The cycle begins with precipitation, a process where water droplets from the
clouds fall down to the earth’s surface as rain/snow. The rain that falls to the
ground flows along the ground as surface runoff into streams and runoff.
Evaporation - The water on the ground causes the water molecules to rise into
the atmosphere, due to the heat.
Where there are plants the roots of the plants absorb the water in the ground and
transfer the water to the leaves which release the water into the atmosphere as
water vapour in a process known as transpiration.
As the water vapour rises into the atmosphere it cools to form water droplets in a
process known as condensation.
Then these water droplets gather as clouds and fall down to earth as
precipitation. The water cycle is this repeated.

The river course :

A river course is a path taken by a river as it flows from the river source to the
river mouth.

characteristics upper course middle course lower course

gradient of the steep gentle very gentle and

land almost soft

volume of water small larger largest

type of river bed rough less rough smooth

River processes :
river processes are very important as they shape the earth’s surface to form
various landforms —> erosion, transportation, deposition
 Processes of erosion -

lateral erosion : makes the river wider vertical erosion : makes the river
deeper
Abrasion/ corrasion :
mechanical scraping of a rock surface in the river bed by rock particles carried in
the river water. The rocks on the sides of the river bed and river channel are
broken down and carried away by the river water.

Hydraulic action :
Powerful force of the flowing water flows into the lines of weaknesses in the sides
of the river bed to break them down by loosening minerals. Over time the
loosened minerals are dragged away by the force of water.

Solution/ corrosion :
Solution refers to the solvent action of river water on soluble minerals in rocks
on the side of the river bed/channel. This causes minerals to dissolve and be
carried away as a solution causing spaces in rocks which cause them to weaken,
break up and get dragged away by the flowing water.

Attrition :
When rock and rock particles knock against or collide into each other regularly
in the flowing river water. This causes the rocks to break up into small rock
particles and become smoother and rounder.

Processes of transportation :

The river load is formed by rock particles and eroded materials in the form of sand,silt,
pebbles and dissolved rock materials. The river transports its load through four
methods :

traction : when the heavy river load rolls and slides along the river bed as they
are carried in the water. Some of the rock particles - boulders - are so heavy that
they can only be moved during flood conditions.
saltation : when small pebbles hop and bounce along the river bed as they move
down the river.
suspension : fine silt and small particles like clay are carried along in the river
through suspension. These particles have not been dissolved but just float in the
water.
solution : when the river carries soluble minerals which dissolve and get carried
on as solution load.
 Process of deposition : the river deposits its load on the river bed. deposition
occurs when the river is unable to transport the river load. This can occur at any
point of the river course. When a river loses its energy large stones and boulders
get deposited first while the finer river load gets transported further downstream
before they are deposited.

earthquakes
→ tremors/vibrations which occur in the earth’s crust when there is a sudden release of
stored up energy in the mantle. These take place frequently at plate boundaries where
plates slide past each other, diverge or converge.

focus : the point at which an earthquake takes place

epicentre : the place on the earth’s surface directly above the focus
fault : fracture/zone of fractures between two blocks of rocks
seismic waves : the vibrations which radiate from the focus in all directions

magnitude and intensity -

magnitude is the amount of energy released by an earthquake. It is measured using a
seismograph and is calculated using the Richter scale from 1-7. Intensity can’t be
measured, it depends on the extent of damage caused.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆ factors which affect the intensity of an earthquake : ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨♡୧⋆ ˚｡⋆
- higher magnitude causes more damage
- extent of damage caused by seismic waves depends on frequency and radiation
- places near epicentre causes more damage
- densely populated settlements near seas and mountains experiences more
damage such as tsunamis and landslides
- good building materials such as stone amd shock absorbing materials like rubber
prevent buildings from collapsing

earthquake zones : occur at boundaries of crustal plates and within areas with frequent
violent activities. the areas with the highest frequency of earthquakes occur in the
volcanic ‘pacific ring of fire’ along the northern border of the pacific plate.
damage :
- fires might start from damaged gas pipes
- damaged roads and bridges make it difficult to rescue people
- landslides - poorly built houses along hill slopes are bulldozed by landslides and
houses at the bottom may be completely buried under the massive rocks and soil
- tsunamis bring destruction to the coasts they hit ex. 2004 earthquake in sumatra

precautions :
- poorly built building should be regularly maintained
- plan for construction of low lying buildings in earthquake prone areas
- conduct earthquake evacuation drills and exercises
- ensure that emergency food supply, water and medications are maintained so that
they can be dispatched to earthquake victims asap

great tangshan earthquake : 7.8 earthquake, tangshan, china. july 28, 1976. many lives
were lost as it was early in the morning at 3:42am and there were 7.1 and 6.0 aftershocks
as well. the place is situated on blocks of rocks surrounded by several faults which
experience displacement due to the indo-australian plate pushing into the eurasian
plate and the pacific place pushing into the eurasian plate. 24,000 deaths and 164,000
injured.

great pakistan earthquake / kashmir earthquake : 7.6 earthquake, epicentre was 1.9 km
away from muzaffarabad. kashmir and khyber pakhtunkhwa were affected the most.
Indo-australian plate subducts beneath the eurasian plate. 79,000 dead.
lots of aftershocks, poorly constructed buildings, densely populated areas, people were
not prepared. no proper system of emergency food, water or medicine.

rock formation
rocks are solid aggregates/substances that make up the earth’s crust.
minerals are inorganic substances that occur naturally and have a definite chemical
composition.
elements are a natural substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by
chemical means ex. oxygen , iron, calcium - 117 elements
minerals with metallic elements - gold and iron
minerals with non-metallic elements - sulphur and graphite

you can distinguish rocks by :

- types of minerals - grain size
- hardness - texture
- colour

igneous rocks : geological process - solidification

intrusive igneous rocks - formed when magma solidifies in the earth’s crust
i. lava cools and solidifies on the earth’s crust
ii. it cools slowly which causes large crystals to form in the rock
iii. thus many intrusive rocks are crystalline and coarse grained
eg. granite and diorite
extrusive rocks : formed when magma/lava solidifies on the earth’s crust
i. lava cools on the earth’s surface
ii. the cooling process is rapid which causes small crystals to form in the rock
iii. thus many extrusive rocks are fine grained.
ex. basalt and rhyolite

sedimentary rocks ‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

a process in which small pieces of a solid material fall to the bottom of a liquid and form
a layer.

sedimentation process
i. weathering - breakdown of rocks at the Earth's surface by natural elements such as
wind, extreme rain and extreme temperature.
ii. erosion - process where soil and rock particles are worn or moved by wind, water or
ice.
iii. deposition - laying down of sediment carried by wind, water or ice.
iv. compaction - occurs when sediments are buried placing them under pressure
because of the overlying layers squashing the grains more tightly.
v. cementation - where new minerals stick the grains together
vi. lithification - the compaction and cementation of sediments into rocks

mechanically formed <clastic>

i. rock materials on the earth’s surface are weathered and broken down by wind and
water - natural elements.
ii. these sediments are transported and deposited at the bottom of the sea taking
millions of years.
iii. rock sediments form layers on the sea bed and become compacted and cemented
under overlying layers.
iv. sedimentation of weather rock materials produced mechanically formed
sedimentary rocks which can be uplifted from the sea bed to become dry land.

chemically formed
i. weathering
ii. erosion
iii. deposition
iv. when water evaporates from the water bodies, minerals in the water begin to
precipitate as crystals and settle at the bottom.
v. these minerals get cemented and compacted to form sedimentary rocks.
vi. sometimes water dissolves minerals in rocks. when the water flows out of the cracks
and evaporates layers of mineral rocks are left. these layers get compacted to form
sedimentary rocks. eg. limestone and gypsum

organically formed
i. form when the shells and skeletal parts of plants and animals settle onto the seabed
and get compressed to form new calcareous rocks which contain large amounts of
calcium carbonate.
ii. Sometimes sedimentary rocks are formed when decomposed vegetations in swamps
get compressed to form peat. when the peat undergoes chemical change their carbon
content increases to form carbonaceous rocks like coal.

mechanically → sandstone, mudstone, shale, conglomerates

organically → coal, graphite, limestone
chemically → limestone, gypsum

rock uses : i. building/construction materials, marble-floors, granite roads.

ii. industrial materials, copper wires, iron ore → iron and steel
iii. agricultural materials, soil from weathered rocks

metamorphic rocks - metamorphism

i. rocks undergo intense pressure and heat to change to form metamorphic rocks
ii. the moving of crustal plates and seepage of magma through cracks produce intense
heat and pressure causing the rocks to change their physical structure and chemical
composition.
iii. metamorphic rocks are formed from other igneous/sedimentary/metamorphic
rocks

original rocks --------> metamorphic rocks

granite gneiss
shale slate
slate schist
limestone marble
sandstone quartzite

rock cycle
magma rises to the top of the mantle and enters the earth’s crust where it cools to form
intrusive igneous rocks. the magma is also ejected through volcanic eruptions/cracks
and it cools as lava to form extrusive igneous rocks. the extrusive igneous rocks undergo
weathering and erosion to form sediments which are moved and settled on the sea bed
which get compressed to form sedimentary rocks <some of which contain fossils of
dead plants and animals> intense heat and pressure is applied to rocks turning them
into metamorphic rocks. when parts of the earth’s crust containing several rocks are
subjected, they melt into the mantle to form magma again. thus the rock cycle is
repeated.

metamorphic —> sedimentary

i. sedimentary rocks are turned into metamorphic rocks by a geological process known
as metamorphism.
ii. in this process, rocks undergo pressure and high heat to metamorphose or undergo
changes from metamorphic rocks.
iii. the moving of the crustal plates and the seepage of magma into the earth’s crust
could produce intense heat and pressure causing pressure that could cause the rock to
change its chemical composition.

igneous rocks : gabbro, kimberline, basalt, rhyolite, granite

sedimentary : limestone, shale, gypsum, sandstone, conglomerates
metamorphic rocks : gneiss, slate, schist, marble and quartzite

weathering and erosion

weathering refers to the process where rocks disintegrate and decompose at the earth’s
surface. the rocks are broken in situ <meaning the rocks remain where they are and are
not transported away> it takes many years for a rock to be naturally weathered.

factors of weathering :
i. nature of rocks -
a) some rocks are made up of soft materials that take a shorter time to break down.
quartz has a mineral hardness of 7 compared to gypsum’s mineral hardness of 2 it takes
much longer to weather it down.
b) rocks which are fine grained weather more rapidly than coarse grained ones, this is
because the combined surface area of small grains is larger hence exposing them more.
c) some rocks have many cracks or lines of weaknesses causing it to be more exposed to
water and air so they weather more quickly.
ii. natural agents -
a) temperature refers to the degree of heat and rainfall refers to precipitation that falls
from the clouds. in hot and humid areas the rate of weathering is very high.
b) plants and animals also aid in the breaking down of rocks. the roots of the plants are
strong enough to break down rocks while animals dig tunnels in the ground allowing
rainwater to reach the insides rocks eventually causing them to break down.

types of weathering :

physical weathering : mechanical weathering - where rocks are broken

through physical forces. the size and shape of the rock changes but the chemical
composition doesn’t change.

types of physical weathering :

alternate expansion and contraction of rocks -

this occurs most commonly in places which experience a wide range of temperature
such as deserts. during the day the rocks heat and expand while the rocks cool and
contract at night. the different rates of expansion and contraction causes stress to build
up causing the rock too soon break down and disintegrate.

sometimes rocks in arid regions disintegrate in a different way, due to heat during the
day their outer layer expands faster than the inner layers, the stress forms between the
outer and inner layer causing the outer layer of the rock to break down faster. due to the
constant alternate expansion and contraction of the outer layer, the rock’s surface peels
off in a process known as exfoliation.

freeze thaw action of ice / frost shattering / ice-wedging

i. the temperature in mountainous areas may drop below freezing point.
ii. this causes water in the cracks to freeze, causing its volume to increase by 10%
iii. this forces the cracks to become larger
iv. during the day the ice melts releasing pressure
release of pressure within rocks
i. overlying rocks exert great pressure on the underlying layers of rocks
ii.