Rivers and flooding Flashcards
(29 cards)
Source
The point at which a river starts
Upper course
The first stage of river, the narrowest and shallowest bit of the rivee, often located on high ground
middle course
the second stage of a river where the land is flatter and the river wider
lower course
the land is flat and the river is at its widest
channel
the river bed and banks in which water flows
v-shaped valley
the river in the upper course flows through steep gradients
tributaries
small streams that join the larger river
erosion
material is cut away from river beds and banks by the water
transportation
when eroded material is taken downstream
deposition
The sediment is ‘dropped’ or deposited onto the river banks when the river no longer has the capacity/energy to carry it, it is then emptied into the wetland area that forms as river waters empty into a larger body of water (aka the river delta)
meander
the natural bend in a river
mouth
the point where the river ends
estuary
in the lower course, where the river meets the sea
precipitation
rain, hail, sleet and snow
surface runoff
when precipitation runs over the surface of the land
throughflow
When water infiltrates the layer of soil and flows through it, rather than overland
confluence
The point at which a tributary joins the main river, or where main rivers merge
bankfull
The point at which a tributary joins the main river, or where main rivers merge
discharge
the volume of water in a river (at any one point
overbank flow
When the river bursts its banks and the water leaves the main river channel
flood plain
The area surrounding a river that has been submerged by water as a consequence of overbank flow
drainage basin
the area of land that drains into one river and its tributaries
watershed
The boundary of the drainage basin. One drainage basin is defined from others by its watershed
lag time
the time delay between the heaviest rainfall and the maximum discharge of a river
