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Rivers Terms

You are here: Home › GCSE/IGCSE Notes › GCSE Geography › River Glossary

Source

The source (i.e. start) of a river is where it originates, e.g. a spring or a lake.

Mouth

The mouth is the end of the river where it meets the sea or a lake.
River Mouth
The Mouth of a river

Long Profile

The Long Profile shows the shape of the rivers course from source to sea

Cross Profile

The Cross Profile is the side view of the river which shows from source to mouth, the altitude of the river.

Erosion

Erosion happens because of decomposition (wearing away) of rocks.

Transportation

Transportation is the movement of sand, silt, sediment, or anything else carried by a river, from one point to another by the river.

Deposition

Deposition is when the river loses energy, and it can't carry as much load. It drops its load (material it has been carrying), starting with the largest particles. 

Load

The load is any material transported by the river, e.g. Sand, pebbles, rock particles.

Meander

A Meander is a winding curve in a river.

Weathering

Weathering is the wearing away of rocks. It can be weathering, biological or physical weathering.

Infiltration

Infiltration is the downward movement of water that seeps into the soil or permeable (also called porous) rock at ground level.

Permeable

Permeable materials are materials that water can pass through, e.g. limestone.

Impermeable

Impermeable materials are materials that water cannot pass through, e.g. clay.

Throughflow

The throughflow is the flow of water in the soil sideways, towards the river (sideways movement of water).

Hydrograph

A hydrograph is a graph showing discharge or rainfall.

River discharge

The river discharge is the amount of water that flows through a river.

Velocity

The velocity is the speed and direction of river flow.

Transpiration

Transpiration is the evaporation of water from plants through their leaves.

Groundwater flow

Groundwater flow is when water travels through bedrock.

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