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River environments
What processes and factors are responsible for distinctive fluvial
landforms?

Slope processes

 Slopes are any part of the land where there is an incline.

 Slope processes transfer material downslope to the river.
 The river may transport the material carried downslope and some of the large
material may be used to erode the river channel and bed.
 Mass movements are any large-scale movement of the earth’s surface that are
not accompanied by a moving agent such as a river, glacier or ocean wave.
 They include very small movement, such as soil creep, and fast movements,
such as avalanches.
 They vary from dry movement, such as rock falls, and very fluid movement,
such as mudflows.

Slow movements

Soil creep:
 Individual soil particles are pushed or heaved to the surface by wetting,
heating or freezing.
 They move at right angles to the surface, as it is the zone of least resistance.
 They fall under the influence of gravity, once the particles have dried, cooled
or the water has thawed.
 Net movement is downslope.
 Rates are slow, 1mm/year in the UK and up to 5mm/year in tropical
rainforests.
 They form small-scale terracettes.

Rain-splash erosion:
 On flat surfaces raindrops compact the soil and dislodge particles equally in all
directions.
 On steep slops the downward component I more effective than the upward
motion.
 Therefore, erosion downslope increases with slope angle.
 Solifluction is a form of accelerated soil creep that can produce braided rivers.
 Solifluction means ‘flowing soil’ and is affected by freezing and thawing in
periglacial conditions.

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Flow movements

Surface wash:
 This happens when the soil’s infiltration capacity is exceeded.
 It can lead to the formation of gullies.
 This commonly occurs in winter as water drains across saturated or frozen
ground.

Sheetwash:
 This is the unchannelled flow of water over a soil surface.
 On most slopes, Sheetwash is divided into areas of high velocity separated by
areas of lower velocity.
 It’s capable of transporting material dislodged by rain-splash.
 Occurs on footpaths and moorlands.

Throughflow:
 This is moving water down through the soil.
 It is channelled into natural pipes (very small channels of water within the
soil) in the soil.
 This gives sufficient energy to transport material, and added to its solute loads,
may amount to considerable volume.

Fast mass movements

Slides:
 Sliding material maintains its shape and cohesion, until it impacts at the
bottom of the slope, and leads to a large, slumped terrace.
 Slides can be small-scale slides to roads.
 Or can be large-scale movements killing thousands of people.

Falls:
 Rock falls occur on steep slopes (>70o)
 The initial cause of the fall could be weathering, such as freeze-thaw.
 Weathering is prising open the lines of weakness.
 Once the rocks are detached, the fall under the influence of gravity.
 If the rock fall is short, then it produced relatively straight scree slopes.
 If it is long, then it forms concave scree.
 Falls lead to scree slopes and large slumped terraces.
 In upland areas falls and slides are an important sediment source for rivers.

Slumps:
 Slumps occur on weakened rocks, such as clay.
 They have rotational movement along a curved slip plane.
 The clay absorbs water, becomes saturated, and exceeds its liquid limit.
 It then flows along a slip plane.

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 Frequently, the base of the cliff has been undercut and weakened by erosion,
reducing its strength.
 Human activity can also intensify the condition by causing increased pressure
of the rocks.
Factors affecting slopes

Climate

 Slopes vary with climate.

 Slopes in temperate environments are usually rounder, due to chemical
weathering.
 Slopes in arid environments are jagged or straight because of mechanical
weathering and over-land run-off.

Rock type and structure

 Slopes are influenced by rock types,

 The Tee-Exe line divides Britain into hard rock and soft rock.
 To the north and the west are old, hard, resistant rock – granite, basalt and
carboniferous limestone.
 This forms upland rugged areas.
 To the south and east are younger, weaker rocks – chalk and clay.
 This forms subdued low-lying landscapes.

Aspect

 Aspect is the direction a slope faces.

 In the UK, north-facing slopes remain in the shade.
 During cold periglacial times, temperatures rarely rose above freezing.
 South-facing slopes experienced many cycles of freeze-thaw.
 Solifluction and over-land runoff lower the level of the slope, and streams
remove the debris from the valley.
 This creates an asymmetric slope.
 The River Exe, Devon.

Weathering

 Weathering is the decomposition and disintegration of rocks in situ.

 Decomposition is chemical weathering of rocks creating new materials.
 Disintegration is mechanical weathering of rocks creating new materials.
 In situ is on the spot, that is, without any lateral movements.
 Weathering is important for landscape evolution as it breaks down rock and
facilitates erosion and transport by rivers.

Mechanical (physical) weathering

Freeze-thaw:

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 This occurs when water in joints and cracks freezes at 0oC.

 It expands by 10% and then exerts pressure up to 2100kg/cm2.
 Rocks can only withstand a maximum pressure of about 500 kg/cm2.
 It is most effective in environments where there is lots of water and there are
frequent fluctuations in temperature.

Salt-crystal growth:
 This occurs in two main ways…
 Firstly, in areas where temperature fluctuate around 26-28 oC.
 Sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) expand by 300%
 Secondly, when the water evaporates, there are salt crystals left behind to
attack the structure.

Disintegration:
 This is found in hot desert areas where there is a large diurnal temperature
range.
 Rocks heat up in the daytime, causing them to expand.
 Rocks cool down during the night, causing them to contract.
 As rock is a poor conductor of heat, stresses take place only in the outer layer
and causes peeling or exfoliation to occur.

Pressure release:
 This is a process where overlying rocks removed by erosion.
 This causes the underlying ones to expand and fracture parallel to the surface.
 The removal of a great weight, such as a glacier, has the same effect.

Chemical weathering

Carbonation solution:
 This occurs on rocks with calcium carbonate.
 For example, chalk and limestone.
 Rainfall and dissolved carbon dioxide forms weak carbonic acid.
 Calcium carbonate reacts with the acid water and forms calcium bicarbonate,
or calcium hydrogen carbonate.
 This is soluble in water and removed by percolating water.

Hydrolysis:
 This occurs on rocks with orthoclase feldspar. (Granite)
 Orthoclase reacts with acid water and forms kaolinite (china clay), silicic acid
and potassium hydroxyl.
 The acid and hydroxyl are removed in solution leaving the china clay behind
as the end product.

Oxidation:
 This occurs when iron compounds react with oxygen to produce a reddish-
brown coating.

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Biological weathering

 Biological weathering involves mechanical impacts, such as growth of roots.

 It also involves chemical impacts, such as the release of organic acids.

Factors affecting weathering

Climate

 Rate of weathering varies with climate.

 Peltier’s diagram shows how weathering is related to moisture availability and
average annual temperature.
 Frost shattering increases as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increase.
 Chemical weathering increase with moisture and heat.
 Van’t Hoff’s Law says that the rate of chemical weathering increases two to
three times for every increase of temperature of 10 oC (up to 60 oC)

Geology

 Rock influences the rate and type of weathering in many ways due to:
 Chemical composition.
 The nature of cements in sedimentary rock.
 Joints and bedding planes.
 Limestone consists of calcium carbonate and is therefore susceptible to
carbonation solution.
 Granite with orthoclase feldspar is prone to hydrolysis.
 In sedimentary rocks, the nature of the cement is crucial: iron-oxide based
cements are prone to oxidation whereas quartz cements are very resistant.

Factors affecting river flow and velocity

Types of flow

Gravity:
 This causes downstream flow.
 Frictional resistance with the bed and bank, which opposes the flow
downstream.

The volume of water:

 The volume of water within a channel and the shape of the channel affect the
amount of energy a river has to move water and sediment.
 The type of flow will affect the types of landforms produced by that river.

Turbulent flow:
 Water flow is not steady or uniform but turbulent, chaotic and eddying.

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 Turbulence provides the upward motion in the flow that allows the lifting and
support of fine particles.
 This contributes to depositional landforms further down the river.
 The conditions necessary for turbulent flow to occur are…
 Complex channel shapes such as meandering channels and altering pools
and riffles.
 High velocities.
 Cavitations in which pockets of air explode under high pressures.

Laminar flow:
 Laminar flow is the movement of water in a series of sheets.
 It is common in groundwater and in glaciers, but not in rivers.
 However, it can occur in the bed in the lower course of a river.
 The best conditions are…
 Shallow channels.
 Smooth, straight channels.
 Low velocities.
 If laminar slow alone occurred in rivers, all the sediment would remain on the
bed.

Velocity:
 The highest velocity is found at a depth of 0.3 x depth.
 But, does vary depending on channel shape.
 The mean velocity of a stream is usually given as 0.8 x surface velocity.

Channel shape

 The efficiency of a stream’s shape is measured by its hydraulic radius, which

is the cross-sectional area of a river divided by the wetted perimeter.
 The wetted perimeter is the total length of the bed and base of a river channel
in contrast with the water in the river.
 The higher the ratio, the more efficient the stream and the smaller the
frictional loss.
 The ideal channel shape is semi-circular.

Channel roughness

 Channel roughness causes friction that slows down the velocity of the water.
 Friction is caused by boulders, trees, vegetation, irregularities in the riverbed
and contact between the water and the bed of the bank.
 Manning’s formula below describes the relationship between channel
roughness and velocity:

Velocity (v) = hydraulic radius (R) x slope (S)

Roughness (n)

 The higher the value of n, the rougher the bed.

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Downstream changes in discharge and channel variables:

 Further downstream, the slow becomes less turbulent, the bed becomes
smoother and velocity increases.

Transport

 Erosion by a river will provide loose material.

 This eroded material is carried by the river as its load.
 The load transported downstream in a number of ways…

Suspension:
 The smallest particles (silts and clays) are carried in suspension as the
suspended load – important during floods.

Saltation:
 Larger particles (sands, gravels, very small stones) are transported in a series
of ‘hops’ as the salted load.

Traction:
 Pebbles are shunted along the bed as the bed or the tracted load.

Solution:
 In areas of calcareous rock, material is carried in solution as the dissolved
load.

 The total load that a stream can carry is referred to as its capacity.
 The size of the largest particle that a stream can carry is referred to as its
competence.

Sediment yield

 Sediment yield is the amount of material (debris) carried by water, measure in

t/km/year.
 Sediment yield varies considerably.
 Very high levels of sediment are found in river basis in Mediterranean areas.
 This is due to the semi-arid climatic conditions, with irregular rainfall falling
on a partial vegetation cover.
 In contrast the high sediment levels for the Pacific Rim are the result of…
 High relief
 Tectonic movement.
 High rainfall.
 In areas such as central Eurasia and North America, the combination of low
relief and resistant rock reduced sediments levels.
 In tropical Africa, the rates are reduced further by the dense covering of
vegetation which intercepts most of the rainfall.
 Large amounts of sediment are transported in river in Southeast Asia and
Oceania.

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 The highest rates of suspended sediment came from the Huangfuchuan River
in China.
 It has an average sediment yield of 53000 t/km/year.
 The reasons for such a huge load were…
 Erodible sediments (loess, glacial deposits, volcanic ash)
 High relief
 Tectonic activity
 Erosive storms (tropical cyclones)
 Limited vegetation cover
 Intense human activity (removing vegetation so exposing ground surfaces)
 Large amounts of sediment are also carried my mountain streams.
 River bank erosion is related to river discharge and width.
 Rates of erosion may be high enough to cause concern and practical problems
for riparian (riverside) communities.
 Riverbank erosion is an important source of suspended sediment in a river,
and is an important part in the development of floodplains.

Hjulstrom curves

 The critical erosion velocity is the lowest at which grains of a given size can
be moved so the faster the stream; the larger the particles that can be picked up
from the riverbed are transported.
 The load of a river varies with discharge and velocity; this is shown by an
Hjulstrom curve.
 High velocities are required to move gravel and cobble because of their large
size.
 Lower velocities can carry sand, silts and clays easily.
 There are three important features on Hjulstrom curves…
 The smallest and largest particles require high velocity to lift them. For
example, particles between 0.1mm and 1mm require velocities of about
10cm/sec to be lifted up and carried.
To lift 0.001mm of clay, it requires velocities of about 50cm/sec because clay
resists entrainment.
Entrainment is picking up particles from the bed of the river.
 Higher velocities are required for entrainment than for transport.
 When velocity falls below a certain level, particles are deposited.

Erosion

Abrasion:
 This is the wearing away of the bed and bank by the load carried by a river.

Attrition:
 This is the wearing away of the load carried by a river.
 It created smaller, rounder particles.

Hydraulic action:
 This is the force of air and water on the sides of rivers in cracks.

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 It occurs as a river tumbles over a waterfall and crashes onto and erodes the
rocks below.

Solution:
 This is the removal of chemical ions, especially calcium.
 It is a form of erosion especially effective on chalk and limestone.

Factors affecting erosion

Load:
 The heavier and sharper the load, the greater the potential for erosion.

Velocity:
 The greater the velocity, the greater the potential for erosion.

Gradient:
 Increased gradient increase the rate of erosion.

Geology:
 Weak, unconsolidated rocks, such as sand and gravel are more easily eroded
than consolidated rocks.
 Consolidated rocks are solid rock or sediment that have been bonded together
by sedimentary cement.
 Unconsolidated rocks are loose, broken material that is often easily eroded.

pH:
 Rates of solution are increased when the water is more acidic.

Human impact:
 Deforestation, dams and bridges interfere with the natural flow of a river and
frequently end up increasing the rate of erosion.

Deposition

 Deposition occurs when a river loses energy

 This may happen because of…
 A shallow gradient which decreases velocity and energy.
 A decrease in the volume of water in the river.
 An increase in the friction between water and the channel.
 Human obstructions, such as dams.

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Landforms produced by erosion

V-shaped valleys

 V-shaped valleys are formed by erosion from a river.

 Weathering and mass movement occur on the valley sides while the river
erodes the base of the slopes.
 The angle of a V-shaped valley depends on…
 The rate of downward erosion by the river.
 The resistance of the rocks to weathering, mass movement and erosion.
 Climate.
 The location along the course of the river – rivers in their upper course tend
to have steeper V-shaped valleys than those in their lower course.
Graded stream profiles

 In general, streams tend to adopt a concave, upward, long profile, with steeper
gradients found in the headwaters and gentler gradients as the stream
approaches base level.
 This is because of erosion.
 If this theoretical shape is achieved, the stream would be regarded as having a
graded profile.

Waterfalls and gorges

 Major waterfalls occur on the margin of horizontally bedded rocks.

 Resistant rock, underlain by weaker rock, is undercut by hydraulic action and
abrasion in the process of enlarging the plunge pool at the base of the falls.
 Collapse and retreat occurs.
 Some waterfalls may be initiated by faulting.
 Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
 Other waterfalls may be caused by a drop in sea level.
 Smaller waterfalls are common in alpine glaciated regions where tributaries
fall into the main glaciated valley.
 Waterfalls move upstream due to the undercutting and collapse process and
leave behind gorge recessions.
 A gorge is a narrow, steep-sided valley which can be formed by the retreat of a
waterfall.

Waterfalls, gorges and human activity

Advantages:
 The sudden change in gradient is ideal for the generation of hydro-electricity.
 They offer strong scenic and recreational attractions.
 The gorges of incised meanders provide safe defensive locations for
settlement.
 The narrow valleys are relatively easily dammed.

Disadvantages:

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 Transport is severely affected – the valleys are often too narrow to

accommodate roads or rails.
 Crossing gorges makes bridges necessary.
 Retreat of waterfalls limits the life of constructions.

Potholes

 A pothole is a hole in the base of a stream or river.

 It is formed through abrasion by pebbles held up by turbulent flow in the
eddies of the stream.

Landforms produced by erosion and deposition

Meanders

 A meander is a bend in a river, formed by a complex process.

 When streams velocity has increased and the load has become finer, in
relatively straight channels, meanders develop as this is the only way the
stream can use up the energy it now possess equally throughout the channel
reach.

Cross-section of a meander

 Meanders have an asymmetric cross-section.

 They are deeper on the outside bank and shallower on the inside bank.
 In between, meanders are some symmetrical.
 They begin with a development of pools and riffles in a straight channel and
the thalweg begins to flow side to side.
 Thalweg is the line of maximum velocity in a river.
 Helicoidal flow is a corkscrew-like motion that occurs in a meander.
 This occurs where surface water flows towards the outer bank, while the
bottom flow is towards the inner bank.
 This causes the variations in the cross section and variations in the erosion and
depositions.
 These variations give rise to river-cliffs on the outer bank and slip-off slopes
(or point bars) on the inner banks.
 River-cliffs are the steep-sided slopes on the outer bend of the meander.
 Slip-off slope are the gentle slope deposited on the inner bend of a meander.

Channel characteristics and meanders

 The curved part of the meander is generally 6-10 times the width of the river
channel and/or the discharge.
 Meandering is more pronounced when the bed load is varied.

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 Meander wavelength increases in streams that carry coarse debris.

 Meandering best develops at or near the bankfull stage.
 The bankfull stage is where the channel variables (width, depth and velocity)
of a river are unable to cope with additional water.

Oxbow lakes

 Oxbow lakes are the result of erosion and deposition.

 Lateral erosion, caused by centrifugal forces, is concentrated on the outer,
deeper bank of a meander.
 Centrifugal is the outward moving force.
 During times of flooding, erosion increases causing a river to break through
and create a new steeper channel.
 In time, the old meander is closed off by deposition to form an oxbow lake.

Landforms produced by deposition

Braided channels

 A river becomes braided when the main channel separates into a number of
smaller interlocking channels.
 The channel is now highly unstable and its form changes constantly.
 Braiding tends to occur when the river does not have the capacity to transport
its load in a single channel, be it straight or meandering.
 A number of conditions lead to braiding…
 A channel gradient that is slightly steeper than that of a meandering stream.
 A load that contains a large proportion of coarse material, usually derived
from easily eroded bank material.
 A highly variable discharge.
 Braided streams are especially common where they drain from glaciers and in
semi-arid areas where all these conditions are met.

Floodplains

 Increased discharge as a result of heavy precipitation or snowmelt could lead

to the bankfull stage.
 The channel variables become unable to cope with the additional water and the
river spills out of the channel into the surrounding area.
 Deposition results as velocity drops to compensate for the increase in width.
 Repeated flooding and depositions leads to the build up of alluvium and forms
the floodplains.
 Alluvium is fine sediment of silt and clay transported in suspension.

Levees

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 These are raised ridges running parallel to the edge of the channel and formed
by repeated flooding of a river.
 When the river floods, its velocity drops as the floodwater spill out of the
channel therefore, the heaviest and coarsest sediments are the first to be
deposited and over time they will build up into levees.
 Levees consist of gravel and sand whereas floodplains consist of fine silt and
clay.

Deltas

 For deltas to be formed a river needs to…

 Carry a large volume of sediment
 Enter a still body of water such as sea or lakes – if there was a strong
current, the sediment would be carried along the shoreline as longshore drift.
 Deposition is increased if the water is salty, as this causes salt particles to
group together, become heavier and be deposited, this is flocculation.
 Flocculation is the process where clay and silt particles combine when fresh
water mixes with the salt water. The heavier particles sink more rapidly.
 Vegetation also increases the rate of deposition by slowing the water down.
Effects of base level change on the formation of features

 The processes of erosion and deposition in a river are controlled by location

relative to the base level of the river.
 This is usually the sea, but could be a lake in an area of inland drainage.
 Local base levels can also be found alone the course of a river.
 The river, in its attempt to become graded will develop low gradients as it
approaches any base levels.
 Base levels, however, are not static and do change.
 Uplift or a fall in sea level will produce a negative change of base level, while
coastal submergence produces a positive change in case level.

Features associated with negative changes in base level

 As the potential energy of the river increases due to the greater difference in
altitude between the source and the base level, the river responds by increasing
its velocity and rejuvenation.
 This creates the following features…

Intrenched/incised meanders:
 Meanders that develop on a floodplain will maintain their form as the river
cuts down towards its new base level.
 Where this process has continued for long period of time, the river will flow in
a meander gorge.
River terraces:
 When a river cuts down into its floodplain, the remnants of the floodplain
form a terrae with a steep slope.
 Periodic changes in base level will form a sequence of terraces, with the oldest
terraces at the top and the youngest ones being lower.

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 These terraces may be paired (when downcutting keeps pace with the rate of
change of base level).
 They may also be unpaired (when there is an opportunity for lateral erosion by
the river between incidences of base level changes.
Knickpoints:
 The long profile of a river is never smoothly concave, but shows many sudden
changes in gradient.
 These knickpoints occur where the river changes from deposition to erosion
and are caused by the negative changes in local base levels due to lithology or
human actions such as damming or deforestation.
 Lithology is the properties or rocks - mineral composition, cracks, joints.

In what ways can river basins be a multi-use resource?

Drainage basins

 A drainage basin is the catchment area within which water supplied by

precipitation or underground sources which is transferred out via a stream.
 Every stream has it’s own drainage basin, separated from an adjacent drainage
basin by a watershed.
 A watershed is the ‘line’ diving the two drainage basins.
 The drainage basin of a river with tributaries includes all the smaller drainage
basins of the tributaries.
 Drainage basins are open systems. There are factors which affect them,
processes which operate in them, and results (landforms) which are created.
 An open system is a system with inputs and outputs.
 River basins are important to people for a variety of reasons. They provide…
 A source of water
 Opportunities for industrial development
 Opportunities for residential development
 Fertile silt for agriculture
 A means of transportation
 A source of power
 A place for recreation and leisure
 A means of flood defence through floodplains
 A conservation value

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