BIBEK,RAJA,PALLAVI(GROUP-D)

 RIVER PROFILE
 The Work of Rivers
The erosional work of streams/rivers
carves and shapes the landscape
through which they flow.
Three functions of rivers
a. Erosion
b. Transportation
c. Deposition
 (A) EROSION
River erode in four ways:-
1)Hydraulic action:-Force in the flow of running water, can erode
the bank and the bed rock. At the bottom of waterfalls the channels
are eroded by hydraulic action.
2)Abrasion:-The flowing water use rock fragment such as pebbles,
gravels and sands as a tool for scratching and grinding the side and
the floor of the valley.
3)Attrition:-It is the breaking of the transported materials
themselves due to mutual collision.
4)Chemical Action:-It includes the chemical action of water on
country rocks. The chemical decay works along joints and cracks and
helps to breaking the bedrocks
 Features of Stream Erosion
Potholes:
Potholes are formed by abrasion.
Pebbles carried by the river are
swirled around on the riverbed.
This action erodes the rock on the
riverbed forming potholes. Over
time, they may widen and join with
other potholes to form larger
potholes, and the whole riverbed
is deepened.

                       
 Waterfalls
Waterfalls occur when a band of hard rock lies across the river with
softer rock downstream.
which is more rapidly eroded. At first rapids would form but then
develop into a waterfall as the
softer rock erodes further. Variations may be caused by the rock
structure.
                                                                                                                   

                                                      
 WATERFALL
UPSTREAM
RETREATS

OVERHANG

PLUNGE
POOL

UNDERCUTTING
OF SOFT ROCK
 NIAGARA FALLS JOG FALLS, KARNATAKA,
CANADA VICTORIA FALLS ON INDIA
(About 167ft height) ZAMBEZI RIVER, AFRICA (1600 ft! Quite high!)
(About 355 ft)
LARGEST
 Gorges or Canyons
 When the river erosion is confined to down-cutting of its channel
only, it give rise to a deep cut narrow valley with steep or vertical walls
known as gorges or canyons.
Ex- The Grand Canyon of Colorado river is the greatest Canyon in
the world. It is 900 to 1800 meter deep, 60 to 90 meter wide and
extends for a length of 300 km.
Grand Canyon, erosion

CANYON GORGE
Meanders:-
In the middle course the river has more energy and a high volume of water. The
gradient here is gentle and lateral (sideways) erosion has widened the river
channel. The river channel has also deepened. A larger river channel means
there is less friction, so the water flows faster:
• As the river erodes laterally, to the right side then the left side, it forms
large bends, then horseshoe-like loops called meanders.

• The formation of meanders is due to both deposition and erosion.

• The force of the water erodes and undercuts the river bank on the
• outside of the bend where water flow has most energy.

• On the inside of the bend, where the river flow is slower, material is
deposited.
 Meandering (Curving) Deposition
River/Stream happens on
the inside of
turns.

Yukon River Basin

Erosion
happens
on the
outside
of turns.

Sediments Running
are Water
traveling
the fastest
in the
center Straight Flowing
directly River/Stream
below the
surface. Meander
12
 Ox-bow lakes:-
Downstream migration of meanders produce pronounced meander loops which
may form ox-bow lakes during flood conditions

1 Lateral erosion on outside of bends of pronounced meander

2 Narrow neck of meander gradually becomes narrower

3 Neck is cut through by river during floods and river forms new straighter
channel

4 Cut-off is sealed by deposition

5 Ox-bow lake begins to silt up

 How ox-bow lake is form?
Cuesta and Escarpment:-
These are formed in regions where rock beds are
inclined and hard and soft rocks alternate.
A cuesta has a long gentle slope determined by the dip
of the resistant(hard rock)bed.
The differential erosion of rocks give rise to a steep
slope, called escarpment.
Hogback:-
A “hogback” is the narrow steep ridge formed by
erosion of the nearly vertical or steeply inclined
resistant rock bed.
 Mesa and Butte:-
 The mesa and butte are
erosional landforms that
develop in the horizontal
sedimentary strata with Mesa Butte
alternate resistant and
nonresistant beds.
 A Mesa may be defined as a flat-
topped upland having steep
side.
 With continued erosion of the
side of a mesa is reduced to a
smaller topped hill with very
steep side, known as butte.
(B)TRANSPORTATION
solution
 (C)DEPOSITION
What is deposition?
It is the last geological action by the river, where by materials
transported get accumulated in an appropriate site.
-The end result of erosion
Deposition occurs when-
a. Volume decreases
b. Speed decreases
c. Change in channels
d. Decrease in slope
e. Chemical precipitation
 DEPOSITIONAL LANDFORMS
Alluvial fan - fan shaped deposit
of sediment on land
Usually form when a stream
slows down and enters a flat plain
The deposition occurs due to
abrupt change in gradient of river
valley
Usually the course materials is
dropped near the base of the slope
while finer material is carried
further out on the plain
In the lower parts many fans joint
laterally to produce a bajada
Flood plains-
>During floods a river overflows its bank and
submerges the adjacent lower areas
>Where deposition of alluvial materials takes place
Natural levee-
>natural levees are the low ridges which are formed
on both sides of a river channel by the accumulation
of sediments

>During floods the river overflows its bank & its

velocity decrease rapidly

>as a result most of the coarse sediment is deposited

along the boundary of river channel

>In this way, successive floods build up on the side of

a river channel is called natural levee
Exam: Levee of the lower Mississippi river rise 6m
above valley floor
Gentle valley sides

Flat floodplain

Coarse material
Forms natural
Layers of silt levees
Deposited during floods
 BRAIDED RIVER
Branches develop in large number in a region of
flatness.
Commonly formed where the amount of load is
excessive & the stream is incapable of transporting
all of it.
The coarser fractions of the load tend to form
island in the centre of the stream which break the
path of the stream. Braided River, Shyok
River, India
 Point Bar:-
In meandering rivers,
sediment deposits
occurs as point bars.

The “point bars” are the

crescent shaped
deposits which occur at
inside bends of a
meandering river
channel.
DELTA-
 A fan shaped deposit that forms at the
mouth of a river/stream when it enters a
larger body of water. The deltas are
usually triangular in shape.

When a stream enters an ocean or lake,

the currents of flowing water decrease
quickly.

Result in the deposition of the series of

sedimentary layer which make up the
delta. GANGA –
BRAHMAPUTRA-
DELTA
It consists of three set of beds LARGEST
(i)bottomset beds, (ii) foreset beds, and
(iii) topset beds.
DIFFERENT TYPES OF DELTA
DRAINAGE PATTERNS
(I)Dendritic Pattern:- In “Dendritic pattern” the streams show a branching
tree like pattern. This pattern develops in terrains covered with uniform
rock types, such as horizontal sedimentary or massive igneous or massive
metamorphic rock.
(II)Trellis Pattern:- In “Trellis pattern” where major streams are parallel
and short tributaries are join the main stream at right angle. These type is
develops in region contain folded or tilted strata.
(III)Rectangular Pattern:- Differential weathering of fault or joint systems
in bedrocks the stream flow producing a more ordered rectangular pattern.
(IV)Radial Pattern:- In “Radial pattern” stream flow outward in different
directions from a central high point. This pattern develops on elevated
structure lie Dome or Volcano.
(V)Parallel Pattern:- This type of drainage pattern develops in a terrain
contain tilted rock bed or parallel faults. Main stream flow along fault
while tributaries which are parallel.
 DIFFERENT TYPE OF DRAINGE PATTERNS
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