River Landscapes (Edexcel IGCSE Geography)

Upland Landforms

River landscape characteristics

• The changes in river channel characteristics, lead to changes in the river landscape

• The upland and lowland areas of rivers have distinctive landforms

• In upland areas, the common landforms include:

  • waterfalls

  • gorges

  • v-shaped valleys

  • interlocking spurs

Waterfalls and gorges

• Waterfalls form when there is a drop in the river bed from one level to another

  • This drop is often due to changes in the hardness of rock, where hard rock overlies soft rock

• Hydraulic action and abrasion are the main erosional processes in waterfall formation

• The softer rock erodes quicker, undercutting the harder rock and creating a plunge pool

• This leads to the development of an overhang of hard rock which eventually over time, collapses 

• The overhang falls into the plunge pool increasing abrasion and making the plunge pool deeper

• The process then begins again and the waterfall retreats upstream leaving a steep-sided gorge

V-shaped valleys 

• Vertical erosion is dominant in the upper course of the river

• This cuts down into the river bed and deepens the river channel 

• Weathering and mass movement lead to material from the valley sides collapsing into the river forming a steep v-shaped valley

Interlocking spurs

• In the upper course of the river, the channel starts to meander

• Erosion happens on the outside of the bend

• In the upland areas this forms interlocking spurs

Lowland Landforms

• Landforms found in lowland areas of the river include:

  • meanders

  • ox-bow lakes

  • floodplains

  • levees

Meanders 

• In lowland areas lateral erosion is dominant

• Meanders increase in size

• The fastest water flow (thalweg) is on the outside of the river bends, leading to erosion:

  • The erosion undercuts the river bank forming a river cliff

  • The river bank collapses and the edge of the meander moves further out

• The slowest flow is on the inside of the river bends, leading to deposition:

  • The deposits form a gentle slope known as a slip-off slope

• Deposition on one side and erosion on the other leads to the meander migrating across the valley

  • This forms a wide, flat floodplain on either side of the river

Ox-bow lakes

• With distance downstream, the size of the meanders increases

• The erosion on outside bends can eventually lead to the formation of a meander neck

• At a time of flood, the river may cut through the neck of the meander forming a straighter course for the water

• The flow of water at entry and exit from the meander will then be slower, leading to deposition

• The meander becomes cut off from the main river channel, forming an ox-bow lake

Floodplains and levees

• Floodplains are flat expanses of land on either side of the river

  • They are formed by the migration of meanders across the valley

  • Material is then added to the floodplain during times of flood

• High discharge may cause the river to overflow the banks (flooding)

• More of the water is in contact with the land surface as the water spreads across the floodplain

• Increased friction caused by this contact reduces velocity and material is deposited across the floodplain gradually increasing the floodplain height

• The heaviest material is deposited first nearest to the river channel forming natural embankments called levees