Key Words

Question 1

tributary

Answer 1

a smaller river or stream flowing into a larger river

Question 2

v-shaped valley

Answer 2

a valley with steep sides and a narrow bottom that has been formed by erosion

Question 3

erosion

Answer 3

the wearing away of rock by natural processes of rivers, ice, wind and sea

Question 4

transport

Answer 4

the movement of eroded material by natural processes such as wind, rivers and sea

Question 5

traction

Answer 5

big boulders and stones are rolled and dragged along the river bed

Question 6

saltation

Answer 6

stones and pebbles bounce along the river bed

Question 7

suspension

Answer 7

pebbles and smaller stones (e.g sand) are carried by a river

Question 8

solution

Answer 8

some material is dissolved into the river water and transported this way

Question 9

load

Answer 9

the amount of material carried by a river

Question 10

cross profile

Answer 10

the change in river width and bank gradient at a specific, a slice across the river

Question 11

long profile

Answer 11

the change in height and steepness of land as a river flows from the source to the mouth, a slice from source to mouth

Question 12

waterfall

Answer 12

a vertical fall of water where the course of a river is interrupted by a steep drop in the land it is flowing over

Question 13

gorge

Answer 13

a steep sided cut through the landscape formed over thousands of years by a retreating waterfall

Question 14

plunge pool

Answer 14

the area of deep water at the bottom of a waterfall, formed by hydraulic action and the grinding of rocks and pebbles

Question 15

flood plain

Answer 15

a flat area either side of a river which floods when the river overflows

Question 16

meanders

Answer 16

bends found along the course of a river

Question 17

thalweg

Answer 17

the fastest current in a river, forced to the outer bend at a meander

Question 18

oxbow lake

Answer 18

a lake shaped like a crescent that is formed when a river bend is cut off from the main flow and becomes isolated

Question 19

helical flow

Answer 19

the corkscrew pattern of flow found in a river

Question 20

sediment

Answer 20

material such as sand and clay that is carried by a river

Question 21

levée

Answer 21

river embankments built as a flood defence

Question 22

mudflats

Answer 22

flat coastal areas formed when mud is deposited by rivers and coasts

Question 23

saltmarsh

Answer 23

an area of coastal grassland which is regularly flooded by seawater

Question 24

discharge

Answer 24

the amount of water flowing in a river at any one point

Question 25

hydrograph

Answer 25

a graph showing how a river responds to a storm, showing the rainfall and discharge over time

Question 26

antecedent rainfall

Answer 26

the amount of rain that has already fallen prior to a specific event

Question 27

lag time

Answer 27

the time between the peak rainfall and the maximum discharge in a river

Question 28

confluence

Answer 28

the point where two rivers meet

Question 29

hard engineering

Answer 29

building structures to deal with natural hazards, such as dams to prevent flooding

Question 30

soft engineering

Answer 30

involved adapting to natural hazards and working with nature to limit damage. e.g planting trees to limit flood risk