Rivers 101

a basic guide on rivers

Introduction:
What are Rivers?
Rivers are streams of fresh flowing water that
travel to larger water bodies, such as oceans and
seas. Rivers can be found all around the world.

Mississippi River, USA

Nile, Egypt
Ganges, India

Yellow River, China

Murray-Darling, Australia
Thames, UK

River Anatomy
Rivers are made up of different parts. The area that
the river is in is called the river drainage basin. A
drainage basin is the space the river takes up. The
edge of the drainage basin is called the watershed.
Every river has a source, which is usually located in
higher land. The source is the point that is the
furthest away from the mouth of the river. The
mouth is the point where the river meets the sea. The
river channel is the course of the river. Most rivers
have other smaller rivers that join them. These are
called tributaries. The point where the main river and
a tributary meet is called a confluence.

W
Source at
e

rs
he
d
River
Channel

Confluence

Tributary
Mouth

The Water Cycle

The water cycle shows us the continuous movement
of water between Earth and its atmosphere. Let’s see
how this happens:

First, the water in the sea evaporates and rises to

the sky.
Next, the water vapour condenses into tiny water
droplets which form clouds.
These water droplets collide and merge. Soon
 they become too heavy and fall down to earth as
precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail).

There are different things that happen to the water

once it reaches earth again.

Some of the water will be absorbed by plants,

and will go back to the atmosphere through
transpiration.
Some of the water will flow on the ground. This is
called surface runoff. This usually happens when
the soil can’t absorb any more water.
Some of the water will infiltrate the soil, which is
known as through-flow. This water will flow back
to the river more slowly than surface runoff.
Some of the water will infiltrate the soil and
directly go to the sea. This is called percolation.

Source

Precipitation

Tr
an
sp
Condensation ira
tio
n

Evaporation
Surface Runoff

Through
Ocean Flow
Percolation
Erosion, Weathering,
and Transportation
Erosion and Weathering are similar processes, but
not the same. Weathering is the process of breaking
down rocks, but erosion is the process of breaking
down rocks and carrying them away through types
of Transportation. There are different types of
erosion and weathering.

Erosion
Abrasion
Abrasion is when rocks scrape across the riverbed,
wearing away slowly. Abrasion can create smooth
rocks.

Attrition
Attrition is when rocks in the river collide, breaking
themselves down into smaller pieces.

Hydraulic Action
Hydraulic action is when the sheer force of fast
flowing water breaks down rocks.
Solution
Solution is when the river dissolves rocks with water.
Some soluble rocks include limestone, rock-salt, and
gypsum.

Weathering
Onion-Skin (Exfoliation)
Onion-skin weathering happens when it is really hot
in the morning and really cold in the night. When
rocks are heated, they expand, and when they cool,
they contract. The repeated expansion and
contraction of the rocks causes layers to be broken
off.

Freeze-Thaw
Freeze-thaw weathering happens when water seeps
into the cracks of a rock. When the water freezes, it
expands, enlarging the crack. Overtime, the cracks
become big enough to split the rock.

Biological Weathering
Biological weathering happens when living things
break rocks apart. Some examples are roots and
animals walking.
Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering happens when the chemical
composition of a rock is changed because of a
reaction.

Rocks that are broken down by erosion are carried

away. There are different ways this can happen.

Transportation
Traction
Traction is when rocks roll across the riverbed.

Saltation
Saltation is when rocks bounce across the riverbed.

Suspension
Suspension is when rocks are suspended/carried in
the water.

Solution
Solution is when rocks are first dissolved then carried
in the water.
Deposition
When rivers lose energy, they drop the material
they’re carrying. This is known as deposition. The
dropped material is called sediment. This usually
happens when there is shallow water, the volume of
water increases, and at the end of a river's journey.

How Do Rivers
Change the Land?
Long-Profile
Long-profiles show a river’s journey from the source
to its mouth. It shows how the river changes over its
course.

Source

A
B

C Mouth
A
Upper Course
V-Shaped Valley
Low Velocity
Waterfalls, Gorges, Rapids

B
Middle Course
Gentle Skipping Valley
Faster Velocity
Meanders, Oxbow Lakes

C
Lower Course
Flat, Wide and Deep Floodplain
Fastest Velocity
Deltas, Estuaries

Cross-Profile
A B C
Cross-profiles show a cross-section of a river’s
channel and a valley at a certain point across a river’s
journey.

Waterfalls
A waterfall is a river or other body of water’s steep
fall over a rocky ledge into a plunge pool below.

For a waterfall to form, you need to have soft rock

below hard rock. The types of erosion that takes
place are abrasion and hydraulic action. Over time,
the erosion forms an overhang and an undercut. The
erosion of the soft rock also creates a hollow, called
a plunge pool. Over time, the overhang from the
hard rock erodes and falls down due to attrition,
hydraulic action, and gravity. The overhang then falls
into the plunge pool and gets carried away by
traction and saltation. The waterfall then retreats
upstream, forming a gorge.

River Overhang Retreats

Upstream

Overhang

Plunge
Hard Pool
Soft Undercut
Oxbow Lakes and
Meanders
Meanders
Meanders are big bends in a river. They start off as a
slight bend. In a meander, the outer side has a faster
flow, causing erosion through hydraulic action. The
inner side has a slower flow, so the river deposits
there. The meander gets bigger and bigger.

Slower flow
Deposition

Faster flow

Erosion
 Growing Meander
Outwards Growing

Wearing away

Oxbow Lake
An oxbow lake is a narrow u-shaped lake that is near
a river. An oxbow lake is a meander that got cut off.

Erosion
River cuts
straight across

Neck

Deposition
 Oxbow Lake gets
lake filled in

Glossary
Abrasion
A type of erosion where rocks scrape against the
riverbed, wearing away.

Attrition
A type of erosion where rocks collide, breaking them
down into smaller pieces.

Biological Weathering
A type of weathering where living things break down
rocks.
Chemical Weathering
A type of weathering where the chemical
composition of a rock is changed due to a reaction.

Condensation
The process of a gas turning into a liquid.

Confluence
The point where the tributary and the main river
meet.

Cross-Profile
A cross-section of a river’ channel and a valley.

Delta
A triangle shaped landform that is created by the
deposition of sediment

Deposition
Where the river deposits sediment (material) due to
energy loss.

Drainage Basin
An area of land taken up by a river.

Erosion
The breaking down and displacing of rocks.
Estuary
A partially enclosed coastal water body where
freshwater and saltwater are mixed.

Evaporation
The process of a liquid turning into a gas.

Freeze-Thaw Weathering
A type of weathering caused by water infiltrating
rocks’ cracks.

Gorge
A narrow valley created by hydraulic action.

Hydraulic Action
A type of erosion caused by the sheer force of fast
flowing water.

Long-Profile
A documentation of a river’s journey from its source
to its mouth, also documenting how it changes along
its course.

Meander
A big bend in a river.

Mouth
The point where the river meets the sea.
Onion-Skin Weathering
A type of weathering caused by weather changes
and constant repetition of expanding and
contracting.

Overhang
The leftover hard rock over the eroded soft rock.

Oxbow Lake
A meander that has been cut off from the river.

Percolation
When precipitation infiltrates the soil and directly
goes to the sea/ocean.

Plunge Pool
The pool found at the bottom of a waterfall.

Precipitation
Rain, snow, sleet and hail.

River
A stream of fresh flowing water.

River Channel
The course of a river.
Saltation
A type of transportation where the rock bounces
across the riverbed.

Solution (Erosion)
A type of erosion that dissolves soluble rocks.

Solution (Transportation)
A type of transportation that first dissolves then
carries rocks.

Source
The point furthest away from the mouth.

Surface Runoff
The flow of water on saturated soil and impermeable
rocks.

Suspension
A type of transportation where the rocks are
suspended/carried through the water.

Through-Flow
When precipitation infiltrates the soil only to come
back to the river again.
Traction
A type of transportation where rocks roll across the
riverbed.

Transpiration
Where plants give out water vapour through their
stomata.

Transportation
How rocks move in a river.

Tributary
A smaller river that joins a bigger one.

Undercut
The eroded soft rock below the overhang.

Waterfall
A river that flows across an overhang, creating a
plunge pool.

Watershed
The edge of a drainage basin.

Weathering
The breaking down of rocks.