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    River Landforms

    Uploaded by

    Tembinkosi James Gomendo
    Geography Notes

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    River Landforms

    Uploaded by

    Tembinkosi James Gomendo
    8 views2 pages
    Geography Notes

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

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    Geography Notes

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    8 views2 pages

    River Landforms

    Uploaded by

    Tembinkosi James Gomendo
    Geography Notes

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    Compiled by Manyeruke G.

    RIVER LANDFORMS

    River landforms are formed as a result of both erosion and deposition.

    Erosion is the wearing away of the river bed and the banks causing the deepening and widening of the
    channel.

    Deposition is when the river loses its energy to carry its load. This results in dropping of sediments in
    transport. Deposition occurs where there is a gentle gradient and shallow channel.

    EXAMPLES OF MAIN RIVER FEATURES/LANDFORMS AND THEIR FORMATION

    V-shaped valley:

    o It has narrow and shallow river channel


    o Has steep sides
    o Channel has a steep gradient
    o Water is mainly slow flowing
    o Load is mainly large, angular and rough
    Potholes: Can be found in the upper & middle valley where a river flows over solid rock
    Meanders:
    o Wide sweeping bends found in the lower part of the river
    o They are formed by a combination of lateral erosion & deposition

    Ox-bow Lakes:
    o Form when neck of a meander becomes very narrow
    o During high flow or floods the river cuts through the neck & straightens its course
    o Deposition occurs on the bank of the river
    o The cut-off meander is an ox-bow lake

    1
    Compiled by Manyeruke G.

    Waterfalls:
    o They occur because the river flows over hard rock which erodes slowly
    o Beneath is softer rock which is eroded faster to form a “step”
    o The force of the water erodes the bottom of the waterfall to form a plunge pool
    o The hard rock gets undercut as the soft rock erodes so that it eventually collapses
    when a waterfall retreats, it forms a gorge.

    Deltas

    o Deltas occur where a river that carries a large amount of sediment meets a lake or the sea
    o This meeting causes the river to lose energy and drop the sediment it is carrying
    o Deltas form where river mouths become choked with sediment, causing the main river channel to split
    into hundreds of smaller channels known as distributaries

    Questions for further study

    Describe and explain the formation of a waterfall


    Describe a floodplain and the formation of levees
    Draw a cross-section of a meandering channel and label main features.
    Draw and label the features of a river delta
    Explain how rivers transport their load
    Suggest methods of managing river flooding and explain how each method works
    Explain how the long profile and cross section of the valley of the river will change as the river flows
    towards the sea.
    Explain how rivers erode their valleys

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