River channel

03 processes and
landforms
Channel processes
Erosion: abrasion/corrasion, solution, cavitation, and hydraulic action.
Load transport: traction, saltation, suspension, and solution.
Deposition.
River flow: velocity and discharge.
Channel types: straight, braided, and meandering.
Landforms: meander, oxbow lakes, waterfalls, gorges, floodplains, levées, and deltas.
River channels and their variables
• Rivers and streams are bodies of water that flow in open channels.
• Rivers get water and material as inputs from overland flow, precipitation
and groundwater flow and erosion
• Rivers then transfer this water and material along to the sea (flow)
• Rivers give up their water and material to the sea/land as an output.
• The river channel shape is constantly adjusting to changes in inputs of
water and material, so that it can transfer the water and material
downstream. This constantly adjusting balance we call Dynamic
Equilibrium.
• Seven variables of the river channel are involved in this constant
adjustment. Each variable can change as you move along a river’s course,
• Each variable is linked to the others , so if one changes, the others can
too. See if you can answer the questions below, then scroll down to
check your answers.
• 1)How might the channel depth change if discharge increases?
• 2)How might velocity change if gradient changes?
• 3)If channel width and depth increase then what will happen to cross-
sectional area?
•
• The answers
• 1)How might the channel depth change if discharge increases?
• The channel will get deeper as discharge increases (to a certain extent)
• 2) How might velocity change if gradient changes?
• If gradient is steeper = higher velocity
• If gradient is gentler = lower velocity
• 3) If channel width and depth increase then what will happen to cross-
sectional area?
• If width and depth increase then so will cross-sectional area
River processes
• River processes shape the land in different ways as the river moves from
its source to its mouth.
• The main processes in the river are
• Erosion - where parts of the river bed and bank get eroded / removed
from the landscape
• Transportation - where the eroded material is carried from one place to
another through the river system
• Deposition - where the river load becomes too heavy for the river to
carry and is dumped down / deposited.
 A river can erode material from its bed and banks in 4 main
ways

• hydraulic action;
• abrasion / corrasion;
• attrition;
• corrosion / solution
Erosional processes

•Cavitation
Water trapped in
cracks /compressed by
the pounding of the
waves
When pressure is
released, bubbles form
in the water escape
from the crack with
explosive force
Widen the cracks very
quickly
pothole Abrasion
Smaller and more rounded

Attrition
Hydraulic action

This process is especially

important where the
water is moving very
quickly, in rapids and
waterfalls.
Transportational processes
• The load of a river is transported downstream in 4 ways.
• 1) Suspension (suspended load) = Fine clay and sand particles are
carried along within the water even at low discharges.
• 2) Saltation (saltated load)= Sand, gravels and small stones are bounced
along the river bed by the flow of water
• 3) Traction (tracted load) = Boulders and pebbles are rolled along the
river bed at times of high discharge
• 4) Solution (dissolved load) = Some minerals dissolve in water such as
calcium carbonate. This requires very little energy.
Depositional processes
• Deposition is the process of the eroded material being dropped.
• This happens when a river loses energy.
• The larger, heavier particles are deposited first, the smaller, lighter
ones later. ( well-sorted )
 Deposition

In flood conditions, when When river discharge is reduced due to a

a river overflows onto its period of dry weather
floodplain

When there is
Under what conditions will a river deposit its
an increase in
load? the size of the
sediment load
caused by a
landslide or
In shallow water, e.g. tributary
on the inside of a delivering
meander bend When there is a decrease in the gradient and /
larger particles
or velocity of the river e.g. at river mouth, or
when entering a lake
As a river travels along it’s course, the shape of the
channel and the landforms which are created by a
river change.
• Some landforms are caused by
erosion, some by deposition,
some a mixture of both!
 The long profile

• The long profile of a river shows changes in the height (altitude) of

the course of a river from its source to its mouth.
• A long profile is usually concave and the slope becomes more gentle
towards the mouth of the river.
• Long profiles usually have irregularities such as waterfalls or
lakes(knick point).
 The cross profile
 The upper course is typified by v-shaped valleys. The river usually occupies most of the narrow
valley floor. Vertical erosion creates the v-shaped valleys.

potholes, gorges,
interlocking spurs

• V-shaped- a steep gradient and

a narrow valley
• shawllow and fast flowing
and gorges
Can you mark the V-shaped valley’s on these photos?
Waterfalls
Gorges
A gorge is a steep-sided, narrow valley with a river or stream running along the bottom. Gorges are formed
by the interplay of several geological processes, including erosion, tectonic processes such as vertical uplift
and cavern collapse. Erosion by the resident body of water is usually the primary contributor to gorge
formation.
 1. Can you mark the
fastest flow on this?

2. What type of erosion do

you think is happening?
The middle course is typified by the valley becoming wider. This is due to the
increase in lateral erosion. Flood plains are common.
The lower course of the river tends to be very wide.
PARK 01

Serpentine River
 Rio Los Amigos
PARK 01

An aerial view shows the muddy waters of Rio Los Amigos as they snake through a rain forest in the Peruvian Amazon River basin.
• A meander is a winding curve or bend in
a river.
• Meanders are the result of both erosional
and depositional processes.
• They are typical of the middle and lower
course of a river.
• This is because vertical erosion is
replaced by a sideways form of erosion
called LATERAL erosion, plus deposition
within the floodplain.
PARK 01
• Most of the water is
pushed towards the
outside bank due to
inertia.
• The water surface of
outside bank is elevated
and generates an
acceleration downward
motion.(deep water will
reduce the friction of
channel and increase the
velocity of water).
EROSION TYPE: Lateral
PARK 01

• The fastest current on outside bend scours the bank and undercutting the bank wil result in
the collapse of river cliff and retreat of outside bank.
• In contrast, just a little water moves in contact with the inside bank and deceleration upward
motion also takes place here because the water is shallow on the inside bank, which means
the friction is very large and the velocity begins to decrease so it does not have enough
energy to continue to transport or carry the material, deposition will occur or take place there.
 X Y

• This cross section clearly shows the eddy current (near ’X’) formed by the
velocity of the river being concentrated on the outside of the bend. These
UNDERCUT the bank causing the formation of a RIVER CLIFF. On the
inside (NEAR ‘Y’), a SLIP-OFF-SLOPE is formed where current is too slow
to carry any load.
 meander neck

Continuous undercutting on the outside bank of meander makes the

neighbouring meanders get closer and closer, form an almost closed curve.
We call that meander neck.
Oxbow Lake
牛 轭 湖
正在形成中的牛轭湖
 Floodplain
• Floodplains are large, flat expanses of
land that form on either side of a river.
• The floodplain is the area that a river
floods onto when it's experiencing
high discharge.
• When a river floods, its efficiency
decreases rapidly because of an
increase in friction, reducing the
river's velocity and forcing it to
deposit its load.
• The load is deposited across the
floodplain as alluvium.
• The alluvium is very fertile so
floodplains are often used as farmland.
 Levees

• Levees are natural embankments produced, ironically, when a river

floods. When a river floods, it deposits its load over the flood plain due
The finer material is
to a dramatic drop in the river’s velocity as friction
The largest & heaviest load is
increases
deposited greatly.
further away from
The largest
deposited & heaviest
first and closest to load is deposited first andthe
closest to thethe
banks causing river
bank,
the river often
bank, often on the very edge, forming raised mounds.
on the moundsThe finertomaterial
to appear taper
very is deposited
edge, further away from the banks causingoff.
forming raised Repeated floods cause
the mounds to appear
the mounds to build up and
mounds.
to taper off. Repeated floods cause the mounds to build up and form
form levees.
levees.
Levees are natural embankments produced, ironically, when a river floods. When a
river floods, it deposits its load over the flood plain due to a dramatic drop in the
river‘s velocity as friction increases greatly.
Levees aren’t permanent structures. Once the river‘s discharge
exceeds its bankfull discharge, the levees can be burst by the
high pressure of the water. Levees increase the height of the
river’s channel though, so the bankfull discharge is increased
and it becomes more difficult for the river to flood.
 Delta

• Deltas are landforms formed at the mouth of a river, where the river
meets a body of water with a lower velocity than the river (e.g. lake or
sea), resulting in the reduction in the river’s capacity to transport
sediment.
• Deltas are dynamic areas that change quickly due to the erosion of
unstable land during storm and flood events and the creation of new
land. Deltas are fertile areas which often support large populations due
to their agricultural productivity. Examples include the Ganges delta in
Bangladesh and the Nile delta in Egypt
Nile delta