Physical Geography Notes
River Environments: -
During the cycle, water is held in a number of stores and transfers between them, these stores are:
The atmosphere: Water here exists either as vapour or as droplets in clouds
The land: Water is stored on the surface in rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Water is taken in by plants
and stored in vegetation for a time. Also stored below the ground in the bedrock as the groundwater
store. Can also exist as ice for example in ice sheets, glaciers, snowfields.
The Sea: Over 95% of the Earth’s water is stored in the sea, mostly as liquid but can also be stored in
icebergs.
The hydrological cycle is a closed process as the amount of water on earth doesn’t change
Physical Geography Notes
The Water Transfers:
Evaporation: The heat of the sun converts liquids into gas (water vapour). The water vapour rises
from the sea store into the atmosphere
Transpiration: Plants take up liquid water from the soil and release it into the atmosphere as water
vapour.
Condensation: The water vapour in the atmosphere cools down and turns into liquid, the liquid takes
the form of water droplets that appear as clouds.
Precipitation: The transfer of water in any form (rain,hail, snow) from the atmosphere to the land
Overland flow: The water flows on the land until it makes its way to a stream, river or lake.
Infiltration: When the water soaks through into the ground into an aquifer or groundwater store
Percolation: The downwards movement of water through soil towards the rocks
Groundwater flow: When the water flows through the rocks underground and makes its way to a
river/stream/lake.
-A drainage basin is an area of land where the precipitation collects and makes its way to a common
body of water
The different types of erosion:
Hydraulic Action: When the force of the water erodes the river banks, water gets into cracks and
expands, fracturing the rock over time
Attrition: The collision between sediment particles, the rocks
become smaller and smoother over time
Abrasion: Rocks are flung at the river bank, wearing it down
Solution: Water dissolves sediment
Flood Hydrographs:
Physical Geography Notes
Lag time is the time between the highest point of rain and the peak flow. Calculates how quickly the
water enters the river. Higher Lag time=Water takes longer to enter river.
Rainfall is always shown by the bars, Discharge is shown by the curve, Time is on the x axis
A steep slope or impermeable rock increase surface runoff.
Permeable rock, and woodland decreases runoff (Trees intercept water)
Urban areas also increase run off as the ground becomes impermeable
The amount of water a river is carrying at a time is called the discharge, it’s measured in cumecs.
Flooding occurs when the discharge exceeds the maximum river storage.
The factors that affect river regimes:
The intensity and amount of rain- If the rain is heavy it won’t sink as the ground will be saturated,
instead it will become overland flow and reach the river quicker.
Temperature, If the temperature is below freezing, the precipitation will be in the form of snow and snow
can take weeks to melt, if the ground remains frozen the melting snow will reach the river faster
however.
Steep Slopes will cause faster surface runoff so water will reach the river quicker. A more gentle slope
could result in the water sinking into the soil, delays the water reaching the river.
Impermeable rock means that water won’t sink in and therefore it reaches the river quicker
Trees and Plants intercept the water and delay it from reaching the river, run off is increased in urban
areas as concrete is impermeable
Human Intervention, dams hold back river discharge and therefore reduce the risk of flooding
downstream. Reservoirs can control the flow of water.
Different types of weathering:
Mechanical/Physical weathering: Water enters the cracks in a rock and freezes, the water expands
and fractures the rock.
Temperature increases and decreases, causing the rock to expand and contract, as this happens a few
times the rock structure weakens.
Physical Geography Notes
Plants can grow in the soil that has collected in cracks. As the plant grows, the cracks expand and the
rocks split. (Also Biological weathering).
Earthquakes weaken the rock structure and the rocks wear down over time.
Biological weathering: Some animals might possibly dig holes into the rock, weathering it over time
and other animals might trample the rock overground and wear it down.
Plants growing in cracks.
Chemical Weathering: Due to human pollution acid rain can sometimes occur, dissolving the rock and
weathering it.
Types of River Transportation: The movement of material (known as the load) by the river. The load is
material that has been washed or fallen into the river as well as material that has been eroded by the
river.
Solution: The material is dissolved in the water and transported downstream.
Traction: Heavy rocks and boulders roll down the river bed
Saltation: Small boulders bounce along the bed
Suspension: Lighter materials are carried along by the river flow
Deposition: When the material transported by the water is laid down. Occurs when there’s a decrease
in the river energy, speed and discharge.
Characteristics of the Lower/Middle/Upper course:
UPSTREAM:
-Steep sided v-shaped valleys
as the bed is eroded vertically.
-Larger and more jagged rocks as they
haven’t been eroded yet
-Shallow water and narrow streams
-Has interlocking spurs which form when the
river swings from side to side.
Physical Geography Notes
-Gorges which are steep sided narrow valleys
with a stream or river running through along
the bottom.
LOWER COURSES:
-Meanders, a bend in the river, common in the middle and lower course as the vertical erosion turns into
sideways erosion. The force of the water erodes outwards as the water if fastest on the outside of the
bends and slower on the insides of the bends.
-Oxbow lakes, as the sideways erosion continues in the river the bend of the meander becomes larger,
in times of floods, load is deposited at the neck of the meander and the bend breaks off, creating an
oxbow lake.
-River Estuaries and Deltas, An estuary is any area where a freshwater river or stream meets the
ocean, a river delta is a landform that forms from the deposition of sediment carried by a river. When the
river reaches the lake or the sea, the water doesn’t have any energy to continue transporting the load
and instead just drops it. An estuary is a body of water, a delta is a body of land.
-Floodplains, land around rivers which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge
-Levees, a ridge on the side of rivers formed by deposition of sediment by overflowing water
Formation of a waterfall:
1. Waterfalls are usually found in the upper level of a river, they occur when there’s hard rock overlying
soft rock, the water and the rocks erode the soft rock below, creating a plunge pool.
2. The soft rock is undercut by erosion and the soft rock is eroded further, creating a hard rock
overhang
3. The hard rock overhang above the plunge pool collapses as its weight is no longer supported
Physical Geography Notes
4. Erosion continues and the waterfall retreats upstream leaving behind a gorge
Mass Movement:The movement of a large quantity of material downslope due to gravity.
1. Loose rock or soil lies on top of impermeable rock
2. When it rains it leads to erosion and undercutting of the river bank and the soil becomes saturated
3. The river bank becomes unstable and the soil is lubricated by more rain
4. Slumping occurs due to gravity as layers of loose soil slide into the river
Soil creep is when the load slowly creeps down the slope because of gravity and it collects at the
bottom of the valley side and is eroded by the river.
Water uses, demand and supply:
Fresh water is used for:
-Domestic use, bathing and showering, flushing toilets, drinking and cooking, washing clothes and
dishes, watering the garden etc.
-Industrial use, producing a wide range of goods and generating electricity
-Agricultural use, used for irrigating crops and providing drinking water for livestock
-Leisure use, sport fishing on rivers, sailing on lakes and ponds, watering golf courses/other sports
pitches
Water demand and consumption have greatly increased during the last 100 years, mostly due to the
rising population. Other factors are:
-Rising standard of living, as the world develops people use much more water in domestic use (Baths,
piped water, washing machines, swimming pools).
-The rise in agricultural productivity needed to feed the rising population means that more water is
used in farming (mostly for irrigation)
-Industrialization, water is used for cooling down machinery and generating electricity
In undeveloped countries most of the water is used for agriculture and little for industry or domestic
use, in developed countries most of the water is used for industry, followed closely by agriculture and
then domestic use.
Sources of water:
-Rivers and Lakes
-Reservoirs which are artificial lakes created by building a dam across a valley and allowing it to flood,
Physical Geography Notes
the water is collected and stored behind the dam
-Aquifers and wells, most of the world’s water supply lies underground, this groundwater can be
extracted by drilling wells and the water can then be raised to the surface by buckets or pumps
Water Supply:
The global distribution of water is uneven, areas such as Africa, the Middle East and Australia have a
water deficit due to the lack of precipitation and some countries have a water deficit due to a large
population and rapid development, such as India.
Water Quality:
Clean water is important as drinking unclean water could result in a number of diseases such as cholera.
Water quality is poorer in drier climates as during dry periods any water that remains on the surface
Becomes stagnant, Pollution also affects water quality.
Sources of Pollution:
Agriculture:
-Liquid from silage and animal manure enters rivers (Silage is a high moisture grass mix fed to animals).
-Fertilisers and pesticides seep into the groundwater.
-Deforestation means that there aren’t any trees to intercept the runoff and the runoff carries soil and
silt into the rivers, can have serious effects on fish and humans drinking water.
Industry:
-Taking water to cool machinery and then returning it to the river at a higher temperature can upset
eco-systems.
-Spillages from industrial plants such as oil refineries can enter rivers and pollute the water.
-Working of metallic minerals and the heavy use of water when processing the ore means that toxic
Substances from this will eventually make it to the river.
Domestic:
-Sewage from houses makes its way to water sources and pollutes them.
-Use of river for washing clothes and bathing contaminates the water.
-Emptying chlorinated water from swimming pools into water sources contaminates the water.
Managing the supply of clean water:
Collection:
-Water is first collected from either rivers, reservoirs, lakes or wells
Treatment:
-After collecting the water, it must be treated, water collected often contains
silt,soil,bacteria,algae,viruses,fungi,minerals and chemicals such as fertilisers
Different ways of treating water:
Chlorination- To control growth of algae or any other small animals.
Physical Geography Notes
Aeration- Removes small pieces of metal.
Sedimentation- To remove large solid sediments
Filtration- Removes smaller pieces of rock/sand
Disinfection- To kill bacteria
Water management isn’t only about providing clean water. Dams and reservoirs can also be used for
generating electricity, flood control, improving navigation and increasing the availability of water in areas
of high water demand.
Rivers Case Studies:
Spain: Tagus-Segura project **River Management in a Developed Country**
● Spain has a Mediterranean climate which means that areas in the south of Spain receive little rainfall,
summer droughts are common.
● Water demand exceeds water supply in Spain
● The Tagus-Segura project is a 286 km long series of aqueducts and canals completed in 1978 to
carry water from the 2 reservoirs in the upper Tagus valley to a large reservoir in the Segura valley
● Once the water reaches the Segura valley it’s distributed to consumers in the provinces of Alicante,
Murcia and Almeria
● Most of the irrigation water has going to agribusinesses rather than local farmers
● Much of the water is now consumed by tourists and urban developments rather than agriculture
● The availability of water encouraged a wasteful use of it
China: The Three Gorges Dam **River Management in an Emerging Country**
● The 3 gorges dam is a dam located in the Yangtze river in China
● It took 10 years to build
● It cost $28 billion, very expensive river management project
● Mainly built to control flooding and generate electricity
● The dam has greatly improved water transport along this section of the Yangtze valley
● Produces approximately 10% of China’s electricity (22,500 Megawatts)
● Provides power to 16 million people
● An advantage is that hydroelectric power is renewable, green source of energy so it will reduce
carbon emissions and help further prevent global warming
● The dam provides thousands of jobs, this boosts the economy and lowers unemployment rates
● The project will help with navigation and will increase the shipping on the river by 10 times, this will
increase the trade and boost the economy for towns and cities further up the river
● A disadvantage is that 1.24million residents had to be relocated to build the dam and most of these
people didn’t receive compensation to buy a new home
● Because the river is slower now because of the dam, more silt/load is deposited up the river so less
load is deposited downstream, this means that flooding increases downstream
● The reservoir that was built up behind the dam flooded around 1300 archaeological sites
● The water quality decreases as huge amounts of human/industrial waste are trapped behind the dam
● The land downstream becomes less fertile as all the silt is trapped upstream
Physical Geography Notes
● The Chinese River Dolphin is now endangered as the dam prevents it from swimming to mate
● The endangered Siberian Crane had its wetlands destroyed
● People are at risk of landslides as the water in the reservoir erodes the valley sides and creates
landslides.
Flooding- Causes and control:
-Flooding occurs when the amount of water moving down a river exceeds the maximum capacity of
the river’s channel
-The excess water overflows the banks and spills out across the flood plain.
-Rivers can flood either due to Human factors or Natural factors
-Most of the time flooding happens due to heavy rainfall
-The shorter the lag-time the more chance of flooding
Physical Factor Impact
Weather Run off is speeded up when there’s heavy
rainfall for a long time as the ground becomes
saturated and the river channel capacity is
reached.
Rise in temperatures can also cause rapid snow
melt which leads to flooding
Rock Impermeable rocks limit infiltration and the water
instead flows overland
Soil A low infiltration capacity in some soils (clay for
e.g) increases runoff
Relief Steep slopes cause rapid runoff
Drainage Density 12 High drainage density means more tributaries
carry the rainwater quickly to the main river
Vegetation High density vegetation absorbs more rainwater
Human Factor
Deforestation Cutting down trees reduces interception of water
Urbanisation Concrete and tar are impermeable and runoff
increases
Burning fossil fuels This is raising global temperatures and causing
melting ice sheets and glaciers as well as more
rainfall and intense storms
Physical Geography Notes
Flooding can affect both humans and the environment:
Effects on environment:
-Landslides
-Soil Erosion
-Loss of wildlife habitats
-Destruction of settlements
-Vegetation destroyed
-Soil contamination by sewage
Effects on people:
-Death and injury
-Loss of belongings
-Damage to property
-Disruption to transport
-Death and Injury
-Crops and animals lost
-Contamination of water supplies and loss of services
Controlling floods:
Construction- Floods can be prevented by building hard-engineering structures such as dams.
Artificial banks can also be raised in order to stop water from spilling over the sides however most
hard-engineering methods are generally expensive to build.
Adjustment/Mitigation- Flood control plans that try to minimise or avoid flood damage, this involves
working with nature, this approach is called soft engineering, examples of this could be preserving
marshes and wetlands so that they act as sponges when it floods. Better flood warning systems and
publicising what to do in case of a flood also help.
Prediction- Predicting of river floods (their extent and depth) is important to control floods. It’s
Important as people can decide how high to build river embankments and it also stops the building of
houses, factories and buildings where there’s a high risk of flooding.
Hazardous environments:
A natural hazard is a non-human event that threatens or causes damage and destruction to people,
their property and settlements. Examples: Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Floods, Tropical storms etc.
Formation of a tropical storm:
-Tropical storms are usually found along the equator as the water there is warmer air and water (27
degrees or above),
Physical Geography Notes
-The sun’s heat warms up the ocean surface, causing evaporation
-Convection occurs as the warmer, less dense air rises and the cooler, more dense air sinks
-A circulatory motion of air rotates the air anti-clockwise /clockwise depending on the hemisphere,
encouraged by the coriolis force.
Coriolis force- The force created by the Earth’s rotation.
-The swirling air picks up momentum and starts travelling in the direction of the prevailing wind or
ocean currents.
-As the tropical storm travels over the ocean, it increases in strength as it’s in contact with warm
ocean water.
Features of a Tropical cyclone:
-Very strong winds, these can destroy trees, crops, buildings, transport links, power supplies and
communications.
-The torrential rain, this can lead to serious inland flooding and can trigger landslides
-The storm surges, these are sudden rises in sea level associated with the very low pressure which
allows the sea level to rise, storm surges can cause immense damage in coastal areas.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes:
-Volcanic eruptions and Earthquakes both result from plate movements.
Constructive plate Boundaries: When 2 plates are moving apart, leaving a space, volcanoes
are formed as the magma wells up to fill the gap
Collisional plate boundaries, When 2 continental plates collide, neither plate is forced under
and both are forced up
Destructive plate Boundaries, When an oceanic plate and a continental plate collide, the
oceanic plate submerges as it’s more dense and the friction causes earthquakes and the
melting of the oceanic plate, magma rises through the gaps.
Conservative plate boundaries, when plates slide past each other in opposite directions, the
friction causes an earthquake
Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes happen at tectonic plate boundaries, for example the pacific ring
of fire.
