Rivers shape the land through erosion and deposition as they flow from their sources downstream. In the upper course near the source, the river erodes steep V-shaped valleys due to its high gradient and velocity. In the middle course, meanders and oxbox lakes form as the river erodes the outside of bends and deposits sediment inside bends. In the lower course near the mouth, floodplains and deltas form as the river's velocity decreases and it deposits large amounts of sediment.

1. RIVER PROCESSES + LANDFORMS How do rivers shape the land?

2. Recap quiz

3. River drainage basins A drainage basin = an area of land drained by one river Part of the hydrological cycle where water is transferred in a continuous cycle between the sea, atmosphere and the land. As the river flows downstream its characteristics and landforms change through the three main sections of: The Upper Course The Middle Course The Lower Course

4. What is it? What stage of the river is it found in? What is it like? Watershed N/A Source V-shaped valley Interlocking spurs Tributory + Confluence N/A Waterfalls Meanders Oxbow lakes Floodplain Mouth Delta

5. Tributary: A small river that flows into a larger river Confluence: The point where two rivers meet

6. Watershed: the high land that separates two drainage basins

7. THE UPPER COURSE Stages of the River

8. The Source The start of the river E.g. This trickle is the start of the River Amazon

9. Vertical erosion in the upper course of the river. The river is steep and gravity pulls it downhill so it erodes deeply in to the soil. The rocks on the valley sides slide down to make a V shape.

10. Interlocking Spurs Like a zip. The river erodes deeply in the upper course (vertical erosion) but does not have the energy to erode the harder spurs of rock so it flows around them.

11. Waterfalls When a river crosses over a band of harder rock it cannot erode but erodes softer rock underneath. Forms a ledge which will eventually collapse.

12. MIDDLE COURSE Stage of the river

13. MEANDERS Water in a river has slower and faster bits This means that there is more erosion on one side than the other Water is fastest on the outside edge of the bend so erodes more, it is slower on the inside and so deposits material So you get curves and bends in the river

14. Oxbow lakes When meander bends get too tight the water really slows down and too much deposition occurs. Then when a storm happens a new fast channel is eroded straight past the old bend which gets left behind as a lake.

15. LOWER COURSE Stages of the River

16. FLOODPLAINS The area of land either side of the river in the lower course that gets flooded. Very fertile land because of rich soils that get deposited after floods.

17. Mouth: the end of a river where it flows into a lake or the sea

18. DELTA: When the river reaches the sea water slows down rapidly and deposits its material. The load builds up and the river gets broken up into lots of smaller tributaries.

19. Rivers game Noughts and crosses

20. Hydro song/poem Using the textbook and all the keywords, write a song or poem to describe the hydro cycle Use pages 66 and 67 to help with terms

21. Common exam Qs These Qs come up often in exams: Locate features on diagram of river Explain the main ways rivers erode Explain how rivers transport material Describe and explain how landforms changed along the course of a river

22. What features can you tell from a map?

23. Stages of a River Upper Stage Middle Stage Lower Stage Erosion Gradient Depth Velocity Width Volume Landforms