Rivers, Flooding & Coastal Landscapes
Rivers shape the land from source to mouth through the fluvial processes of erosion, transportation, and deposition. Understanding how river landforms (waterfalls, meanders, ox-bow lakes, and floodplains) develop and how physical and human factors affect storm hydrographs explains how engineers manage flood risk.
- Hydraulic Action
- The force of the water breaking rock particles away from the river channel or cliff face.
- Longshore Drift
- The zigzag movement of sediment along a coastline driven by waves approaching at an angle to the shore.
- Hydrograph
- A graph showing the discharge of a river at a given point over a period of time, usually following a rainfall event.
Rivers, Flooding & Coastal Landscapes: Flood Hydrographs, Plate Margins & Global Systems
Test how land use changes storm hydrograph lag times, compare plate boundaries, and inspect global atmospheric cells and the Demographic Transition Model.
Key Concepts & Exam Definitions (5)
- Hydraulic Action
- The force of the water breaking rock particles away from the river channel or cliff face.
- Longshore Drift
- The zigzag movement of sediment along a coastline driven by waves approaching at an angle to the shore.
- Hydrograph
- A graph showing the discharge of a river at a given point over a period of time, usually following a rainfall event.
- Meander
- A pronounced bend or loop in the course of a river.
- Deposition
- When a river or the sea loses energy, it drops the material it has been carrying.
Quick-Fire Flashcards (5)
Click any card to check the answer, then mark it as Known to track your progress.
What is the name of the process where rocks smash against each other and become smaller and rounder?
What coastal landform is created when longshore drift extends a beach out into the sea across an estuary?
What is a rivers discharge?
Does erosion happen on the inside or outside of a river bend (meander)?
Name one soft engineering method for coastal management.
Exam-Style Questions & Mark Schemes (3)
Write or think through your answer first, then click Check Mark Scheme to see the exact points examiners award marks for.
- Q1
Explain the formation of an oxbow lake.
Click “Check Mark Scheme” to compare your answer, Erosion on the outside of meander bends narrows the neck. During a flood, the river cuts through the neck to take a shorter route. Deposition seals off the old meander, leaving an oxbow lake.
- Q2
Describe how physical factors can increase flood risk.
Click “Check Mark Scheme” to compare your answer, Steep slopes cause rapid surface runoff. Impermeable rocks prevent infiltration. Heavy rainfall saturates the ground quickly.
- Q3
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a sea wall.
Click “Check Mark Scheme” to compare your answer, Advantage: Very effective at stopping erosion and flooding. Disadvantage: Very expensive and can look unnatural.
Common Exam Questions (3)
What are the four types of erosion?
The four processes of river erosion are hydraulic action (water compressing air into cracks in the bank), abrasion (sediment grinding against the bed and banks), attrition (rocks colliding and breaking into smaller, rounder pebbles), and solution (weak acids dissolving soluble rocks such as limestone).
How is a waterfall formed?
A waterfall forms where a river flows over a layer of hard, resistant rock overlying softer rock. Hydraulic action and abrasion erode the softer rock more rapidly, undercutting the hard rock to create an overhang and plunge pool until the overhang collapses and the waterfall retreats upstream, leaving a steep-sided gorge.
What is the difference between hard and soft engineering?
Hard engineering builds artificial structures such as dams, reservoirs, embankments, and flood relief channels to control river flow. Soft engineering works with natural river processes through floodplain zoning, afforestation, river restoration, and flood warnings.
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