River

Characteristics,
Changes &
Landforms
What is a drainage basin?
Tributary
Mouth A river which joins a larger river.
Where the river
flows into the
sea, or sometimes Catchment
a lake. The area from
which water
Watershed drains into a
The boundary particular
dividing one drainage basin.
drainage basin
from another- a
ridge of high Source
land. The upland area
where the river
Confluence
begins.
The point at which two rivers join.
Features of a drainage basin on a map.
Confluence

b Source

d Watershed

a Tributary
The Long Profile of a River

Changes in the river as it goes

downstream from source to
mouth.
Height above sea level in meters. Long Profile

Gradient/slope decreasing
A
0 50 100 150 200 250

Upper Velocity/flow increasing

Course
Cumecs/discharge increasing

B Energy increases
Middle Course C
Lower Course
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
Distance from sea in Kms.
 Valley & Channel Cross-Sections
A B C
Upper Course Middle Course Lower Course
 What are the main features of a river?
Upper Course
Steeply sloping towards the
Long Profile
lower sections of the river
Steep sided v-shaped valley.
Cross Profile Thin river channel, deep in
places
Primarily vertical erosion,
through attrition, abrasion
Erosion &
and hydraulic action. Large
Deposition
boulders deposited and
eroded in situ.
Transportation Traction and saltation
Interlocking spurs;
Features waterfalls; V-shaped valley;
gorges
Relatively slow moving.
Despite areas of fast flowing
water, the large amount of
Velocity
material on the river channel
bed means that friction will
slow the water down.
Middle Course Lower Course
Shallow slopes towards the Almost at sea level, very gently
mouth of the river sloping towards its mouth
v-shaped valley remains with a
Wide, shallow valley, with large
wider valley floor and the river
flood plains and meanders. The
begins to meander across it.
river channel is wide, deep and
The river channel begins to
smooth sided.
widen and become deeper.
Primarily cuts laterally as it has
Continues to cut vertically. But
almost reached base level. The
it also begins to cut laterally as
erosive energy of the river is
it gets closer to base level.
almost totally concentrated on
Deposition occurs in the slower
cutting sideways. Much
moving insides of meanders.
deposition occurs.
Saltation, suspension and
Mainly suspension and solution.
solution
Meanders; slip-off slopes; ox- Deltas; flood plains; levees;
bow lakes meanders; ox-bow lakes
The water has increased in
The fastest section of the
speed as the channel widens
river, as the channel is widest,
and becomes smoother. Some
with very smooth sides, and the
boulders cause friction to slow
greatest volume of water.
it down a little.
The Upper Course of a river

Learning Objectives:
•To know and
understand the
formation of
landforms in a river’s
upper course.
•To understand the
processes that
operate in a river’s
upper course
 What processes occur in a river?
There are 3 processes taking place in
every river.
These are:
Erosion (The wearing away of the land)

Transportation (The movement of

eroded material)
Deposition (The laying down of eroded
material)
There are also two other processes that shape the river
valley. These are weathering and mass movement.
 Shaping the river valley.
There are also two other processes that
shape the river valley. These are weathering
and mass movement.
Weathering = the breakdown of rock material.
Mass movement = the movement downslope of
broken down rock material due to gravity.
 Weathering & Mass Movement.
The 3 main types of weathering are show below in the wrong order. Sort
the statements out into the right order and copy these onto your sheet.
Underneath copy out a definition of mass movement.
 Erosion Processes
Match up the key word with the definition.
Abrasion (Corrasion) - Hydraulic Action -
Corrosion - Attrition -

• is when the river is loaded with material in

suspension and scours away at the river banks.
(Sandpaper effect)
• is the shear force of the river impacting on the
sides of the river banks.
• is substances carried in solution such as acids. They
dissolve rocks away over long periods of time.
• is when bed load collides into each other with the
current flow and breaks down into smaller particles.
 Erosion Processes
Match up the key word with the definition.
Abrasion (Corrasion) is when the river is loaded with
material in suspension and scours away at the river
banks. (Sandpaper effect)
Hydraulic Action is the shear force of the river
impacting on the sides of the river banks.
Corrosion is substances carried in solution such as acids.
They dissolve rocks away over long periods of time.
Attrition is when bed load collides into each other with
the current flow and breaks down into smaller
particles.
 Key words - Transportation.
• Traction – where large rocks and boulders are
rolled along the river bed. Happens most in times of
flood, when the current is strongest.
• Saltation – where smaller stones are bounced along
the river bed in a leap frogging motion
• Suspension – where very small grains of sand or silt
are carried along with the water
• Solution – where some material is dissolved (like
sugar in a cup of tea) and is carried downstream.
Occurs often in limestone landscapes where the
water if very acidic.
 Methods of transportation.

Shows the rate of flow needed

Traction Saltation Suspension Solution

Upper valley characteristics
Upper valley characteristics
Can you add an annotation to each arrow to
explain the characteristic?
 Upper valley characteristics
“V”shape
valley, vertical
erosion
dominant Narrow,
shallow
Interlocking channel, low
spurs velocity and
discharge
Slumping and
landslides - Large bed load
very active derived from
hill slopes upstream and
from valley
sides
No flood plain Narrow Lots of High land
and V-shaped Channel tributaries so source
valley of river

Direction of Contour lines

flow shown by Steep river close together –
lower land gradient – steep valley sides
contours close
together
1 2

3 4
Interlocking spurs
A typical upper course V-Shaped
valley with interlocking spurs, steep
valley sides and active slope
processes.
The diagram below shows the
formation of interlocking spurs.
Can you draw
an annotated
sketch of
this valley to
show how it is
formed?
River load in upper course

Why are they rounded?

Boulders are large and semi-rounded,

due to attrition within the load and
abrasion with the stream bed and
banks
Rapids in the Upper Tees Valley
Formation of Rapids
High Force waterfall, R. Tees

WHAT IS A
WATERFALL?

A waterfall is
formed where
water flows
over a cliff
or very steep
drop in the
river's bed.
High Force Waterfall R. Tees
 Formation of a Waterfall.
• A waterfall is a steep drop in the course of a river.
• They form when a band of hard resistant rock (cap rock) lies over
softer, less resistant rock.
• The softer rock is quickly eroded by hydraulic action and abrasion,
causing the harder rock to be undercut.
• The hard rock overhangs until it can no longer carry its own weight.
• The overhang collapses and then breaks up in the water below.
• The great power of the water at the base of the waterfall causes a
plunge pool to form.
• The bed of the river below the waterfall contains boulders eroded
by splash back from behind the waterfall.
• Over time the process above is frequently repeated and eventually a
steep-sided gorge forms as the waterfall retreats up stream.
Waterfall formation
Look at the diagram, How is a waterfall formed?
Can you put
the labels
below into
the correct
place on he
diagram?
 High Force waterfall, R. Tees

Waterfall
s create a
gorge
upstream
as they
recede,
This is a
steep
sided
valley
with no
floodplain
.
 Evidence
Upper Course of a River of
High Steep tributaries
land valley
Reservoir sides

Narrow channel and no floodplain

Land use:
Few settlements, Recreation, Farming, Forestry
Waterfalls
The Middle and Lower Course of a River

Learning Objectives
•To understand the main processes that operate
in the middle and lower course of a river.
•To understand how meanders and oxbow lakes
are formed.
This is a picture of a river in its middle course.
Can you recognise and explain the differences
between the upper and middle course of a river?
Processes operating in the middle course
of a river
Erosion is still an important process.
The river is now flowing over flatter land and so the
dominant direction of erosion is lateral (from side to
side).
The river has a greater discharge and so has more
energy to transport material. Material that is
transported by a river is called its load.
Deposition is also an important process and occurs
when the velocity of the river decreases or if the
discharge falls due to a dry spell of weather.
What landforms are found in the middle
course?

•Meanders DEPOSITION and

EROSION create
•Oxbow Lakes
these landforms
A meander= a
bend in a river

Can you match

up the
characteristics
below?
Deep water A gently sloping area of land on the inside of a meander

Slip off slope Formed on the outside bend of the meander due to erosion.

River cliff Because of the gentle slope, there is a lot of frictional drag and
so therefore the river flows at this speed

Fastest flow Maximum depth of the channel. (Note the asymmetrical cross-
profile)

Slowest flow There is little frictional drag from the bed and bank at this point
and so the river can flow at this speed.
1
2

Meanders

3
Direction of meander migration

Floodplain

Slip-Off
Erosion on
Slope
the outer
bend
where
there is
faster
flow. It
creates a
river cliff

Deposits on the inner meander bend

where there is low energy
Can you match up the labels to the correct place on
the diagram?
Cross section through a meander
 Ox Bow Lake Formation
Can you look at the diagram & explain the formation of ox-
bow lakes?
Ox Bow lake on Mississippi
 More
gentle
sloping
valley
sides

Land
use
changes
– more
urban
Small floodplain areas.
begins to develop
on either side of
the river,

Evidence of
meanders
 The Lower Course of a River

Learning Objectives:
To be able to describe and explain the formation of
a flood plain, levees, delta and estuary.
 Floodplains, Deltas and Levees.
The pictures below show a floodplain, a delta and levees.
Using your prior knowledge of river processes come up with
a theory to explain how they are formed. The key words
underneath each picture will help. Floodplain
Main
Channel

Main
Floodplain
deposition Channel Levee
Sea/lake
deposition slow deposit
Slow flow sea/lake flood
alluvium (silt) load large load
flood channel smaller load
flat blocked
 Defintions
Flood plains
• A flood plain is the wide, flat area of land
on either side of the river in its middle and
lower course.
Levees
• Levees are natural embankments of silt
along the banks of a river, which are often
several metres higher than the flood plain.
Floodplain & Levee formation

1. Floodplains and leveés are formed by deposition in times of

river flood.
2. The river’s load is composed of different sized particles.
3. When a river floods, the river water overflows the banks
of the river and immediately slows down due to friction.
4. This drops the larger particles first, building up a raised
river bank called a LEVEÉ.
5. The sands, silts and clays are similarly sorted with the
sands being deposited next, then the silts and finally the
lightest clays. This builds up the floodplain.
Levee formation
 How a floodplain is formed

This is a cross section of a floodplain.

Can you draw a simple sketch of the diagram and the

labels below and then annotate it to explain how it is
formed?
leveés sands clays and silts
 Delta Formation
Deltas form at the mouths of
many of the world’s larger rivers,
e.g the Nile (Egypt), the Ganges
(Bangladesh), the Mississippi
(USA).
A delta is a flat area of sand and silt built into the
sea. It is formed by deposition.
1. When a river enters a sea or lake carrying large
volumes of fine material, the velocity slows and
causes the load to be deposited in layers.
2. Over time, the deposited material blocks
channels and forms small islands separated by
river channels called distributaries.
 Estuaries
There are no large deltas around the coasts of
the UK, instead the tidal mouth of a UK river is
typically characterised with an estuary.
Estuaries are wide river valleys flooded daily by
the tide.
At low tide, large
expanses of mud and
sandflats are exposed
which are mostly
composed of material
deposited by the river, e.g
Thames Estuary
Thames, Humber, Severn.