STD: 10 WATER SECURITY

The Work of Rivers

What is a river?

A river forms from water moving from a higher elevation to a lower elevation, all
due to gravity. When rain falls on the land, it either seeps into the ground or
becomes runoff, which flows downhill into rivers and lakes, on its journey
towards the seas. In most landscapes the land is not perfectly flat—it slopes
downhill in some direction. Flowing water finds its way downhill initially as small
creeks. As small creeks flow downhill they merge to form larger streams and
rivers. Rivers eventually end up flowing into the oceans. If water flows to a place
that is surrounded by higher land on all sides, a lake will form. If people have
built a dam to hinder a river's flow, the lake that forms is a reservoir.
The water in a river doesn't all come from surface runoff. Rain falling on the land
also seeps into the Earth to form groundwater. At a certain depth below the land
surface, called the water table, the ground becomes saturated with water. If a
river bank happens to cut into this saturated layer, as most rivers do, then water
will seep out of the ground into the river.
There are three main types of processes that occur in a river. These are erosion,
transportation and deposition. All three depend on the amount of energy there is
in a river.
Erosion
The energy in a river causes erosion. The bed and banks can be eroded making it
wider, deeper and longer.
Head ward erosion makes a river longer. This erosion happens near its source.
Surface run-off and thorough flow cause erosion at the point where the water
enters the valley head.
Vertical erosion makes a river channel deeper. This happens more in the upper
stages of a river (the V of vertical erosion should help you remember the V-
shaped valleys that are created in the upper stages).
Lateral erosion makes a river wider. This occurs mostly in the middle and lower
stages of a river.

Transportation
Transportation of material in a river begins when friction is overcome. Material
that has been loosened by erosion may be then transported along the river.
There are four main processes of transportation.

Deposition
Deposition is the process of the eroded material being dropped. This happens
when a river loses energy. A river can lose its energy when rainfall reduces,
evaporation increases, friction close to river banks and shallow areas which leads
to the speed of the river reducing and therefore the energy reduces, when a river
has to slow down it reduces its speed (and ability to transport material) and
when a river meets the sea.

The landforms due to the river works are mentioned below:

1. WATERFALL: A waterfall is formed when there is a change of rock type

from a highly resistant rock to a less resistant rock, on the course of the
river leading to erosion.

2. V- SHAPED VALLEY: A valley is a portion formed between two mountains

due to the erosion by rivers and weathering.

3. MEANDERS: A meander is formed due to the general turns or bends in a

river.
4. OXBOW LAKES: An oxbow lake is formed from a meander. When the
deposits near a meander increases, the loops tend to come closer.
Eventually, this loop cuts off from the river and forms its own lake called
the oxbow lake.

5. GORGE: A gorge is formed when a river cuts down a valley with steep
sides. For example, the Byson Gorge in Andhra Pradesh and Indus Gorge
in Kashmir.
 6. CANYON: A canyon is as deep as a gorge but is wider at the top than at
the bottom.

7. DELTA: A delta is a depositional landform at the point where a river

reaches the sea.

Other landforms formed by river work are levees, floodplains and braided
channels.
River ecosystems are clearly important and at risk. River Ecosystem

The ecology of the river refers to the relationships that living organisms have with
each other and with their environment – the ecosystem. An ecosystem is the sum
of interactions between plants, animals and microorganisms and between them
and non-living physical and chemical components in a particular natural
environment.
River ecosystems have:
 flowing water that is mostly unidirectional
 a state of continuous physical change
 many different (and changing) microhabitats
 variability in the flow rates of water
 plants and animals that have adapted to live within water flow conditions.
River ecosystems are clearly important and at risk. Their direct economic
importance to societies includes their use in transportation, water supply,
energy, and provision of harvestable products.
The health of rivers, and the range and level of ecosystem services they
provide, will ultimately be stronger if individuals have a catchment
consciousness and see rivers as being at the heart of communities.