Cambridge IGCSE Geography Rivers

22 Rivers and drainage basins Once clouds have released the

precipitation, many different routes and
Rivers and the water cycle destinations are possible for water. It may:
■ evaporate back into the atmosphere
All rivers receive their water from precipitation -
■ be transpired by plants
that is rain, hail, snow and sleet. But the
■ be kept by plants or in the soil
relationship between precipitation and the
■ stay for a time in lakes, glaciers or
amount of water in a river, known as discharge,
reservoirs
is not straightforward. Only a small amount of
■ infiltrate into the ground to become
the water that falls reaches the river, which is
groundwater
just part of the water, or hydrological, cycle.
■ run off the surface immediately into rivers.
Through rivers, the water reaches the sea
to be evaporated again and the water cycle
continues.

A River terminology
Characteristic Definition RIVERA RIVER B
Width Narrow/wide Narrow/wide
How wide the water in the river is. The
distance from bank-to-bank of the surface
water of the river.
Depth How deep the water in the river is. This Shallow/ Shallow/deep
varies across the river, so an average is deep
usually taken from several measurements
of the width.
Velocity The speed at which the river is flowing. Slow/fast Slow/fast
This varies with depth and width.

Wetted Length of the wet part of the channel Low/high Low/high

perimeter cross- section containing flowing water.
Cross-section Area of flowing water when measured Small/large Small/large
7 area from bank to bank.
8 Discharge Low/high Low/high
The amount of water flowing in a channel.
This is calculated by multiplying cross-
sectional area by velocity.
[ B j Evapotranspiration: vegetation not only
intercepts rainfall but also takes it up through
9 Condensation: as water vapour is blown
r------------------------------------------------------- roots
JS The watertowards (hydrological)
mountains cycleby the prevailing winds it is from the soil. This water is eventually returned to
forced to rise, cools and condenses back into the
water droplets. These form clouds and relief atmosphere by transpiration from leaves.Surface
©
(orographic) rainfall or snow. water is also evaporated from leaves.
Precipitation = rain and snow Clou A) Evaporation: water is stored in the sea as a
ds liquid.
^ ft ^ 1 4. High temperature and warm winds change the
liquid water into gas (water vapour), which rises
into the atmosphere.

( ® Interception: some rainfall is intercepted by 1 (f) Overland flow: upland streams flow downhill
plants and trees before reaching the ground. Some and join at confluences to form slower-moving,
falls on land and infiltrates the ground or flows on wider, deeper rivers which eventually discharge
the surface as small fast-flowing streams. the water into lakes or the sea.
Drainage basin characteristics
The drainage basin includes all the area drained by
a river and its tributaries. The drainage basin is
also known as the river’s catchment area. The
border or edge of the drainage basin is called
the watershed. This boundary is usually on the
tops of hills and mountains, or high ground,
which surround the drainage basin. It is
sometimes called a divide because it separates
one drainage basin from others.

C Ways back to the sea-a systems diagram

Drainage basin input (precipitation)
Condensati
on

Interception
by
vegetation

Surface
store

I ^tion
n
f
i
l
Soil water JgL
store Seas and oceans

De m
ep Sedat
p ion Drainage basin
1 output
(river discharge)

Ground
Evapotranspiration water store
4HK-'

___A or river
Grouifl water M| flrav
Cambridge IGCSE Geography Rivers

TASK
the 1:
stores,
Studyhow
c Suggest the^ systems diagram would
Source
change for an urban area. Explain why.