Rivers and Coast
Theme 1: Rivers
Drainage basin: The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.
Watershed: The boundary line separating adjacent drainage basins.
Tributary: A smaller river or stream that flows into a larger river.
Confluence: The point where two rivers or streams join.
River source: The starting point of a river, often in highlands or mountains.
River mouth: The point where a river flows into a lake, sea, or ocean.
Long profile: The gradient of a river's course from its source to its mouth.
Cross profile: The shape of a river channel and its valley at a particular cross-section.
Erosion: Processes by which a river wears away and removes rock and soil.
Hydraulic action: The force of water alone eroding the riverbed and banks.
Abrasion (corrasion): Erosion caused by the river's load grinding against the bed and banks.
Attrition: The wearing down of the river's load as particles collide.
Solution (corrosion): The dissolving of soluble rocks (like limestone) by the river water.
Transportation: The movement of eroded material (the load) by the river.
Traction: Rolling of large stones and boulders along the riverbed.
Saltation: Bouncing of smaller particles along the riverbed.
Suspension: Fine particles (silt and clay) carried within the water flow.
Solution: Dissolved minerals transported within the water.
Deposition: The process of the river dropping its load when it loses energy (velocity decreases).
River discharge: The volume of water passing a given point in a river per unit of time (cubic
meters per second).
Hydrograph: A graph that shows the variation in a river's discharge over time.
Floodplain: A flat area of land bordering a river, formed by the deposition of sediments during
floods.
Levees: Natural raised banks along a river, formed by the deposition of coarser sediments during
floods.
Meanders: Curves or bends in a river's course, typically found in the middle and lower course.
Oxbow lake: A crescent-shaped lake formed when a meander is cut off from the main river
channel.
Waterfall: Where water flows over a vertical drop in the riverbed, often caused by variations in
rock resistance.
Delta: A depositional landform at the mouth of a river where it enters a lake or sea, often
triangular in shape.
Theme 2: Coasts
Coast: The dynamic interface between the land and the sea.
Coastal erosion: The wearing away and removal of coastal land by marine processes.
Wave: A disturbance on the water surface that transfers energy.
Swash: The forward movement of water up a beach when a wave breaks.
Backwash: The return flow of water down a beach.
Constructive wave: A low-energy wave with a strong swash and weak backwash; deposits
material.
Destructive wave: A high-energy wave with a weak swash and strong backwash; causes
erosion.
Coastal processes:
Hydraulic action: The force of waves compressing air in cracks and weakening rock.
Abrasion (corrasion): Erosion caused by waves hurling sand and pebbles against the coast.
Attrition: The wearing down of rock fragments as they collide with each other.
Solution (corrosion): The dissolving of soluble rocks by seawater.
Coastal landforms (erosional):
Cliff: A vertical or near-vertical rock face along a coast.
Wave-cut platform: A flat or gently sloping rock surface at the base of a cliff.
Headland and bay: Headlands are resistant areas of land that jut out into the sea; bays are
inlets formed by the erosion of less resistant rock.
Cave: A hollow formed in a cliff by wave erosion.
Arch: A natural bridge formed by the erosion of a cave through a headland.
Stack: A vertical column of rock, isolated from the headland by erosion.
Coastal landforms (depositional):
Beach: An accumulation of sand and shingle deposited by waves.
Spit: A long, narrow ridge of sand or shingle extending from the coast, often with a hooked
end.
Bar: A ridge of sand or shingle that extends across a bay, sometimes enclosing a lagoon.
Tombolo: A bar that connects an island to the mainland.
Coastal management: Human interventions to protect the coast from erosion and flooding.
Hard engineering: Structures built to resist erosion (e.g., sea walls, groynes, rock armour).
Soft engineering: Working with natural processes to manage the coast (e.g., beach
nourishment, dune stabilization).
Managed retreat: Allowing controlled erosion and flooding in certain areas.
Coral reef: An underwater ecosystem formed by colonies of coral polyps in tropical waters.
Mangrove swamp: A coastal wetland ecosystem dominated by salt-tolerant mangrove trees.