River Work
River
A river is a natural stream of water, usually fresh
water flowing towards an ocean, a lake or
another stream.
A river is a component of the water cycle.
There is no general rule that defines what can
be called a river.
Common River Terms
• Source – The place where a river begins.
• Course – The route the river takes to the
sea
• Tributary – A small river that joins a larger
river.
• Confluence – The point where the
tributary joins the river.
Common River Terms
• Mouth – The point where the river enters
the sea.
• Estuary – The part of the mouth that is
tidal.
• Basin – The area of land drained by a
river.
• Watershed – The high ground separating
one river basin from another.
The River’s Journey
• Rivers usually begin in the mountains.
• They flow downhill onto flat land and into the sea.
The Stages of a River’s Journey
• As the river flows from it’s source to the sea it goes through 3
stages. These are,
• The Upper or Youthful Stage
• The Middle or Mature Stage
• The Lower or Old Stage
The Youthful River
• The youthful river has a small amount of
water but it travels very quickly down the
steep mountain slope.
• Most of its energy is used to erode (wear
away) the landscape.
• This erosion (wearing away) occurs in 4
ways.
Processes of River Erosion
• Hydraulic Action – The force of the
moving water wears away the banks and
bed of the river.
• Abrasion – Small stones carried by the
river wear away at the banks and bed of
the river.
Processes of River Erosion
• Attrition – The small stones in the river
are worn down and broken up as they hit
off each other.
• Solution – Rocks and soil are dissolved
by acids in the water.
Landforms of the Youthful Stage
• All of the erosion by the river creates features or
landforms on the landscape.
Three features created in the youthful stage are,
1. V-shaped Valleys
2. U-Shaped Valley
3. Hanging Valley
4. Interlocking Spurs
5. Waterfalls
6. Rapids & Cascades
7. Gorge or Canyon
8. Hogback & Cuestas
9. Domes & Ridges
10. Cataracts
11. Pothole Drilling
12. River Capture or Piracy
V-Shaped Valleys
• V-shaped valleys get their name from their
shape. The river erodes the landscape and
creates a valley in the shape of a V.
• This occurs because of Vertical Erosion. The
river cuts down into the river bed, making it
deeper. It creates a narrow deep valley.
Mechanical weathering and mass movement
create the V shape. See Diagram.
V-Shaped Valleys
U-Shaped Valley
• By continual process of down cutting, sometimes
lateral erosion is also started simultaneously.
• This combined action changes the shape of V-
shaped valley into a U-shaped cross-sectional
profile.
Hanging Valley
A tributary stream trough, the bottom of which is
considerably higher than the bottom of the
principal stream’s trough (valley), that it joins.
This arrangement of main (trunk) and minor
valley is called hanging valley.
Interlocking Spurs
• As the rivers flows it meets areas of hard
rock. It cannot erode these so it flows
around them.
• This creates a zigzag course. See
Diagram.
Waterfalls
• Waterfalls are formed when
rivers flow over areas of hard
and soft rock.
• The river erodes the soft rock
but cannot erode the hard
rock. This creates a step which
the water starts to fall over.
• The falling water erodes
deeper into the bed. The rivers
load creates a Plunge Pool as
it falls. See Diagram.
Waterfalls
Rapids & Cascades
Rapids and cascades represent rocks
differences of greater magnitude
Number of water falls makes Rapid or Cascades
Flow of water in different steps
Gorge or Canyon
A canyon is also known as a steep-sided
gorge, having vertical side down-slope and
down cutting of tens of hundreds of feet
(meters) from upper sides to bottom.
Hogback & Cuestas
Sometimes stream erosion removes the soft
rock strata first, leaving a low ridge with one
fairly steep and other very gentle slope, such
landform is known as Cuestas
Domes & Ridges
The erosion of cyncline and adjacent anticlines
(downward slope) produces a series of parallel ridges
and valleys of zigzag terrain.
Where sedimentary strata have been pushed
upward, to form a dome, stream erosion also
produces, a characteristic landscape called
domes and ridges.
Pothole Drilling
If the rocks of a bed of a stream are not uniform
and possess a number of joints and planes of
weakness, differential erosion is able to dig out a
pit or a hollow called Pothole.
River Capture or Piracy
A subsequent stream may encroach upon the
territory of the neighboring stream, might even
rob its headwaters.
So that the less successful consequent stream is
diverted into the more powerful stream. This
process is known as stream piracy or river
capture.
The Mature Stage
• We now know that during the youthful stage the
river is mainly eroding the landscape.
• Erosion breaks off particles of rock and soil from
the bed and banks of the river. They are carried
along by the river and are known as the Load.
• The load is carried from upland to lowland areas.
This process is called River Transportation.
River Transportation
All rivers carry material in them. This material is carried by
the river as it flows along.
Rivers can carry large stones, small stones, sand, and
other dissolved minerals.
All of this material in the river is called the river’s Load
When the river moves its load we call this River Transportation
River Transportation
• Transportation occurs in 4 ways.
• 1. Rolling
• 2. Bouncing
• 3. Suspension
• 4. Solution
River Transportation
Suspension
Solution
Rolling Bouncing
Rolling
• Rolling – The large stones are rolled along the
bed of the river.
Rolling
Bouncing
Bouncing – The smaller pebbles are bounced
along the bed of the river.
Bouncing
Suspension
Suspension – Light material like sand and silt are
carried along (floating) in the water.
Solution
4. Solution – Dissolved materials are carried along by
the river.
Solution
Landforms of the Mature Stage
In the Mature Stage the river begins to slow down,
and so it begins to deposit some of its load. It
creates the following features.
1. Wide River Valley
2. Meanders
3. Flood Plain
4. Alluvial Fan
5. River Terraces
Landforms of the Mature Stage
Wider River Valley
In the mature stage the river moves from
side to side and the valley becomes wide
and flat. Weathering and Mass Movement
continue to wear away at the sides of the
valley. See diagram.
Landforms of the Mature Stage
Meanders
Meanders are bends or curves along the river. They are formed by erosion and
deposition. Erosion occurs on one side of the river while deposition occurs on
the opposite side. This continues, making the bends sharper. See diagrams.
Meanders
Landforms of the Mature Stage
Flood Plain
A flood plain is the flat area of land on either side
of the river. After heavy rain the river sometimes
floods. The water spreads out over the land on
either side of the river. When the river retreats it
leaves behind a thin layer of alluvium. After many
floods a thick layer of alluvium is created. This is
very fertile soil.
Alluvial Fan
• A fan-shaped deposit consisting of alluvial
material, located where a mountain
stream emerges on to a plain.
River Terraces
River terraces are formed by stream’s
rejuvenation, by flood or by some tectonic
events in the rivers valley.
These terraces are also said “paired terraces”,
because they lie at the same elevation on the
either side of the rejuvenated stream.
The Old Stage
• In the Old Stage the river is
carrying lots of sand and
silt. It is now flowing over
flat land and so it is moving
slowly. Therefore it begins
to drop off its load. This is
called deposition. Like
erosion in the Youthful
Stage, deposition also
creates many features or
landforms.
Landforms of the Old Stage
The following features or landforms are
created by river deposition in the Old Stage.
1. Ox-Bow Lakes
2. Levees
3. Delta
Landforms of the Old Stage
Ox-Bow Lakes
An ox-bow lake is a horseshoe
shaped lake found beside a
river. Ox-bow lakes are formed
when continued erosion and
deposition create very
pronounced meanders.
Eventually the river cuts through
the neck of the meander.
Deposition then occurs which
leaves the ox-bow lake
separated from the river.
How an Ox-Bow Lake is Made
Landforms of the Old Stage
Levees
Levees are raised banks of deposited material
found along the banks of the river.
When the river floods and spreads out over the
floodplain, the heaviest material is deposited
close to the river.
Over time and after many periods of flooding this
deposited material forms levees along the banks of
the river.
Levees – Raised Banks
Landforms of the Old Stage
Delta
A Delta is a triangular shaped piece of land
which is formed at the mouth of the river
As the river enters the sea it drops off all the
remaining material it is carrying
This material builds up to form new land. The
river is forced to break up into smaller channels
called distributaries.
Deltaic Plains
At the end stage, where rivers flow into quite
bodies of water such as lakes and oceans, their
velocity is dissipated and their load deposited.
Thus a triangular shaped plain of alluvial
material is formed, called delta.
A. Arcuate Delta
This type resembles the form of triangle.
The front or the base of these triangular
aggradations is curved convexly.
The delta of Nile is the Best example.
B. Bird’s Foot Type
This form resembles the talons of a bird and
made of finer sediment held by the rivers in
suspension.
The deltas of Missippi, Hawang-Ho are the best
examples.
At this deltaic stage, the stream slows down,
loses both competence and capacity, and drops
much of its load, which particularly blocks the
channel and forces the stream to seek another
path.
The following conditions favour delta deposits to
take place.
Active vertical and lateral erosion in the upper
course of the river to provide extensive
sediments to be eventually deposited as
deltas.
The coast should be sheltered from tides,
waves and currents.
There should be no large lakes in the river
course to “filter off” the sediments.
Conclusion
Water is one of the most powerful resources in
the world. In places where it is scarce, wars are
fought to possess what little is discovered.
No human structure could withstand the most
basic of molecules when they decide to combine
their forces.
Water forms depositional as well Erosional land
forms.
