AISU,

becomes easier.
mining the
4. Building materials like
Ke

d are available. limestone and Ceme

enudation-Meaning
The word 'denude' means to strip off
or unCOVe
(Denudation is the process of
removing the earth surface breaking
throughor erosion ar
weathering resulting in the reduction
up an

relief. Denudation leads to a change in

and landforms on Earth.)
ellandsevatcioapno
Agents of Denudation
Denudation is caused by natural agents such %
wind, rivers, sea waves, glaciers, etc.)We will lear
more about how rivers and winds cause denudation
Rivers
Ariver has its
origin from various sources-a lake,
a glacier, a mountain, or even an
water reserve. Depending upon theunderground
land over
which it flows, and the smaller streams that
on its way, the river becomes a join t
large water bod.
tages of a River Course
he journey of a river from
its source (E
Pginning) to its mouth (where the river enters ti
a) is divided into
three and the
urse, the middle Course, main stages: the uppe
lower Course
e river in its
upper course does the main worK
erosion, while in the middle the
mai
course,Course, it
rk is transportation. In the lower
bosition. Ariver erodes the rocks and soilove
ch it flows. The
work of attrition wears
JCes the size of rocks
ck in the gradually. You wil
river bed
rather to sand and sil!a
rounded due
same rock gets reduced
iver moves further Finally.
is
umreduced
to silt and
that deltas are clay
downstream(which is
theterti

made of.)
 WEATHERING AND DENUDATION

Upper course: In the upper course, the youthful

river flows along an uneven surface and leads
to intensive bottom erosion- the
are steep and the erosion is rapid. gradients
The rapid
deepening of the channel leads to the formation
of V-shaped valleys, rapids,
sided valleys, and gorges. waterfalls, steep
A V-shaped valley is formed
when the river,
near its source, erodes down
vertically. The
weathered material from the valley
deposited in the river. This material slopes gets
erodes the
riverbed through abrasion when it is carried by
the river.
When the river traverses over
different rocks in
the upper course, it erodes the softer
rocks more
rapidly than the hard rocks. Over time, the soft
rock is further cut into and taken
downstream
by the water, making the
is at this point where thewatercourse steeper. It
water becomes steep
enough to be called a waterfall.
Middle course: In the middle course, the erosive
power of the river reduces as it enters the plains
and transportation becomes important, leading
to the formation of flood plains. The river
starts mneandering. The topography consists of
features such as meanders, oxbow lakes, flood
plains, and alluvial formations.
Meanders are formed when the river in its
middle course enters the plains from ahigher
relief and cuts through its banks.
Lower course: In the lower course, the gradients
are gentle and the velocity is low. Thus, the
river loses most of its erosive power and
flows in a sluggish manner. The river at this
stage does little of erosion and transportation
but is mostly engaged in deposition. This
stage is characterised by the development of
distributaries and the formation of features like
natural levees, deltas, etc.
When the river is about to enter the sea or
Ocean, it gets broken into many distributaries
that spread out in a certain pattern resulting
in the formation of a triangle-shaped
landfornm.
This triangular landform resembles the Greek
letter A (delta) and is called the delta of the
river.
Wind
Wind transports particles of minerals, sand, dust,
etc., when they are in a dry state and
by vegetation cover. This phenomenonunprotected
occurs in deserts and semiarid regions of commonly
the world.
Following are some of the landforms formed by the
action of wind.

Upper Course Middle Course Lower Course L

SOURCE

Characteristics Characteristics MOUTH

* Steep/V-shaped valley
* Narrow/Shallow channcl
High Bedload
Features
* V-shaped valleys
"Interlocking Spurs
Waterfalls
Characteristics
" Open/gentle sloping valley " Open/gcntle sloping valley
with floodplain with floodplain
* Wider/deeper Channcl " Flat and Wide Flood plain
Morc suspended scdiment " Wide, open vallcy
" Very wide and very deep channcl
Features Features
* Mcanders " Oxbow Lakes
River Cliffs " Flood Plains
Slip off Slopes " Levees

Gorges
Fig. 9.2The course of a river
WEATHERING AND DENUDATION

Deflation hollows: When the wind

sand over long carries
formed distances, depressions are
on the surface.
are called These
deflation hollows. depressions
Sand dunes: A dune is a
a
desert. Sand dunes are hill of sand in
deserts when the wind formed in open
one place and takes sand from
to formn deposits it in
mounds sand. another place
of

Exereises
I.
Answer the
following
1. What does questions briefly:
2. Name
two weat
major
hering mean? What does
3,
Describe how types ot gradation mean
4.
What is changes of weathering. Name two
processe
5. How exfoliation?
does frost temper a ture lead
to
weathering.
6
Name the action cause
7. What is different
2 hydration? processes weat
of hering?
chemical
9. Describe the work of plants as
Which
weat herin g.
10. State thehuman activities lead to agents of
11. What
effect of
weat herin g. weatherinweatofhering.
g rocks?
12. How is a happens when the river is in its
II. Define
waterfall formed? upper course2