SDOC-1E3226EB6CFE4C669128613C0D0C1641-02-20-SI

River stages
A river is often divided into three parts or stages and has features that are specific to
each stage.
The table below explains the main features of each stage.
Stage Main activity Main features
Source, tributaries, V-shaped valley,
Upper course (steep interlocking spurs, waterfalls, rapids,
gradient) Vertical (downward) erosion gorges
Middle course Lateral (sideways) erosion River beaches (slip-off slopes), meanders,
(gentle gradient) starts, transportation river cliffs
Lower course (very Floodplains, oxbow lakes, levées, delta,
low gradient) Deposition estuary
River landscape
The following three diagrams show various types of river landscape.
Middle Course
Lower Course
River processes
The main processes involved in rivers are:
• Erosion - the wearing away of the land and the stones carried in the river.
• Transport - the movement of rocks, sand, and silt by the river.
• Deposition - the dumping of rocks, sand and silt wherever the river slows down.
Erosion
The main ways in which a river erodes are:
• Corrasion - wearing away of the river bed and banks by the load hitting against them.
• Attrition - wearing down of the load as the rocks and pebbles hit the river bed and
each other, breaking into smaller and more rounded pieces.
• Hydraulic action - breaking away of the river bed and banks by the sheer force of the
water getting into small cracks.
• Chemical action (corrosion) - water dissolves minerals from the rocks and washes
them away.
Transport
The main ways in which transport happens are:
• Traction - quite large stones can be rolled or dragged along the river bed by the force
of the water.
• Saltation - small stones, which the water cannot lift, bounce off each other and are
carried forward for short distances by the water above the river bed.
• Suspension - if particles are small enough the river can lift them and carry them long
distances.
• Solution - when the river dissolves minerals from the rocks they are carried in the
water itself.
Deposition
The main way in which deposition happens is:
• Loss of Speed - when the river slows down on the inside of bends or when it meets
deeper water, like a lake, it loses energy and cannot carry so much, so drops some
of its load.
1. Formation of a V-shaped valley
2.
Image caption,
Formation of a V-shaped valley
3.
Image caption,
Formation of a V-shaped valley
1 of 3
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Slide 1 of 3, Formation of a V shaped Valley, Formation of a V-shaped valley
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• Rivers begin high up in the mountains so they flow quickly downhill eroding the
landscape vertically.
• The river cuts a deep notch down into the landscape using hydraulic action,
corrasion and corrosion.
• As the river erodes downwards the sides of the valley are exposed to freeze-thaw
weathering which loosens the rocks (some of which will fall into the river) and
steepens the valley sides.
• The rocks which have fallen into the river help the process of corrasion and this
leads to further erosion.
• The river transports the rocks downstream and the channel becomes wider and
deeper creating a V-shaped valley between interlocking spurs.
Waterfall
• The river flows over bands of softer and harder rocks.

• Softer rock is more quickly eroded.
• The river undercuts the harder rock leaving an overhang.
• The river forms a plunge pool below the waterfall.
• Overhanging rock is unsupported and falls into the plunge pool.
• The waterfall is moved upstream.
• This process continues and a gorge is cut back into the hillside.
Meanders and oxbow lakes

• Water twists and turns around stones and other obstructions resulting in areas of
slower and faster water movement.
• The river starts to flow from side to side in a winding course but still in a relatively
straight channel.
• Water moving faster has more energy to erode; this occurs on the outside of the
bend and forms a river cliff.
• The river erodes the outside bends through corrasion, corrosion and hydraulic
action.
• Water moves slowly on the inside of the bend and the river deposits some load,
forming a river beach/slip-off slope.
• Continuous erosion on the outer bank and deposition on the inner bank forms a
meander in the river.
• The meander will migrate downstream and change shape over time.
Oxbow lake
Formation of an oxbow lake
• The river is meandering across the valley.

• The river is eroding laterally (from side to side).
• The river flows faster on the outside bends and erodes them.
• The river flows slowly on the inside bends and deposits material so its course is
changing.
• Continual erosion and deposition narrows the neck of the meander.
• Often during a flood the river will cut through the neck.
• The river continues on its straighter path and the meander is abandoned.
• New deposition seals off the ends and the cut-off becomes an oxbow lake that will
eventually dry up.
Erosional landforms
The process of erosion can create different landforms. The erosional features are
often found in the upper course of the river.
Waterfall and gorges
A waterfall is a sudden drop along the river course. It forms when there are
horizontal bands of resistant rock (hard rock) positioned over exposed, less resistant
rock (soft rock).
1. The soft rock is eroded quicker than the hard rock and this creates a step.
2. As erosion continues, the hard rock is undercut forming an overhang.
3. Abrasion and hydraulic action erode to create a plunge pool.
4. Over time this gets bigger, increasing the size of the overhang until the hard rock is
no longer supported and it collapses.
5. This process continues and the waterfall retreats upstream.
6. A steep-sided valley is left where the waterfall once was. This is called a gorge.
Interlocking spurs
In the upper course there is more vertical erosion. The river cuts down into the valley. If
there are areas of hard rock which are harder to erode, the river will bend around it. This
creates interlocking spurs of land which link together like the teeth of a zip.
Depositional landforms
Floodplains
A floodplain is an area of land which is covered in water when a river bursts its
banks.
Floodplains form due to both erosion and deposition. Erosion removes
any interlocking spurs, creating a wide, flat area on either side of the river. During a
flood, material being carried by the river is deposited (as the river loses its speed and
energy to transport material). Over time, the height of the floodplain increases as
material is deposited on either side of the river.
Floodplains are often agricultural land, as the area is very fertile because it's made
up of alluvium (deposited silt from a river flood). The floodplain is often a wide, flat
area caused by meanders shifting along the valley.
Levees
• Levees occur in the lower course of a river when there is an increase in the volume
of water flowing downstream and flooding occurs.
• Sediment that has been eroded further upstream is transported downstream.
• When the river floods, the sediment spreads out across the floodplain.
• When a flood occurs, the river loses energy. The largest material is deposited first on
the sides of the river banks and smaller material further away.
• After many floods, the sediment builds up to increase the height of the river banks,
meaning that the channel can carry more water (a greater discharge) and flooding is
less likely to occur in the future.

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River stages

1. Formation of a V-shaped valley

Previous imageNext image

• The river flows over bands of softer and harder rocks.

Meanders and oxbow lakes

Formation of an oxbow lake

• The river is meandering across the valley.

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