River Environments
How a river shapes the land from source to mouth: the drainage basin, the processes of erosion, transport and deposition, the landforms they build, and how flooding is managed.
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Free interactive practice at using the material, which is what the marks are for.
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How a river shapes the land
A river is a system that carries water and material from high ground down to the sea, and geographers study how it shapes the land along the way. All the land drained by a river and its tributaries is the drainage basin. A river begins at its source, usually in the hills, and ends where it meets the sea at its mouth. As the water flows it does three kinds of work: it erodes, wearing away rock; it transports the material it picks up; and it deposits that material when it slows down. In the upper course the river cuts downwards and makes steep V-shaped valleys and waterfalls. In the lower course it swings across a wide flat floodplain in great bends called meanders. This module covers the drainage basin, the processes, the landforms, and how people manage the risk of flooding.
River words
Learn these features of a drainage basin before you match anything.
Upper course against lower course
A river does different work at different points along its journey.
How to explain a landform
To explain a river landform, always name the process that made it. Do not just say a waterfall is there. Say that the river crossed a band of hard rock lying over softer rock, wore the soft rock away faster, and left the hard rock standing so the water plunges over it. Ask three questions of any landform: is this the upper or the lower course, is the river mainly eroding or depositing here, and which named process is doing the work. A landform explained by its process reaches the higher marks, while a landform that is only described does not.
Match the erosion process
- hydraulic action
- abrasion
- attrition
- solution
- the force of moving water breaks rock apart
- carried rocks scrape and wear the bed and banks
- rocks knock together and become smaller and rounder
- slightly acidic water dissolves soluble rock
Landform of a meander
On the outside of a meander bend the water flows fastest and erodes the bank. What landform does that erosion create?
- a river cliff, a steep bank cut by erosion
- a levee, a raised bank of deposited material
- a source, where the river begins
- a watershed, the edge of the drainage basin
Soft engineering
Select the TWO methods that are soft engineering, working with nature rather than against it.
- Afforestation, planting trees to slow run-off
- Floodplain zoning, keeping building off the floodplain
- Building a large concrete dam across the river
- Raising concrete flood walls along the banks
Work out the discharge
A river channel has a cross-sectional area of 6 square metres, and the water flows at 2 metres per second. Discharge is the area multiplied by the velocity. Work out the discharge, in cumecs.
Order the river journey
Put these stages of a river journey in order, from where it starts to where it ends.
- The source high in the hills
- The upper course cutting a V-shaped valley
- The lower course crossing a wide floodplain
- The mouth where the river meets the sea
Complete the river facts
All the land drained by a river and its tributaries is the drainage _____. A river begins at its _____ and ends at its _____ where it meets the sea. When carried rocks scrape and wear the bed of the river, the erosion process is called _____.
Match the landform
- a waterfall
- an ox-bow lake
- a floodplain
- a levee
- water plunges over a band of hard rock above softer rock
- a meander loop is cut off and left behind
- material is spread out when the river floods over its banks
- a raised bank builds up from repeated deposition at the edge
Spot the true river facts
Tap the TWO statements that are true about rivers.
- A tributary is a smaller river that joins a larger one
- Deposition happens when a river slows down and drops its load
- A waterfall forms where soft rock lies on top of hard rock
- Attrition is the force of water breaking rock apart
Manage the river
Read each case and choose the best response, with a reason.
- A town beside a river floods often. A planner wants a method that works with nature rather than against it. Which fits best?
- You must explain why a steep gorge is found just below a waterfall. What is the best explanation?
- During a flood a river is rolling large boulders along its bed. Which transport process is this?
Explain river environments
A friend has to explain how rivers shape the land and how flooding can be managed, and does not know where to start. Explain river environments.
- Explain what a drainage basin is, using two of its features
- Explain the difference between erosion, transport and deposition
- Explain how one river landform forms, naming the process that makes it
- Explain the difference between hard and soft engineering for floods
- Finish by explaining why explaining a landform by its process earns more marks than describing it