IGCSE GEORGAPHY: RIVER LANDFORMS

THE UPPER COURSE

In the upper course of a river, water flows quickly through a narrow channel with a steep gradient; as it does so
it cuts downwards.
This vertical erosion results in a number of distinctive landforms including the steep sloping v-shaped valley
through which the river flows in its upper course.

FEATURE 2: V- SHAPED VALLEY

TASK: label the photograph to describe the main features of the river and its channel in the upper course

TASK: Explain how a v- shaped valley is formed.

FEATURE 2: INTERLOCKING SPURS

DESCRIPTION:

ridges of more resistant rock around

which a river is forced to wind as it
passes downstream in the upper course

EXPLAIN HOW THE FEATURE WAS FORMED:

In the upper course the river does not have a huge
amount of energy to erode as it does not have a high
discharge and it has to transport large pieces of
sediment.

When the river meets areas of harder

rock that are difficult to erode it winds
around them.
A series of hills form on either side of the
river called spurs.
As the river flows around these hills they
become interlocked.

FEATURE 3: WATERFALLS
The highest waterfall in the world is the Angel Falls in
Venezuela which has a drop of 979m.
Other particularly famous examples include:
Niagara Falls (North America)
Victoria Falls (Zambia / Zimbabwe border)
Iguazu Falls (South America).

FEATURE 3: WATERFALL

TASK: draw an annotated diagram of a waterfall

FEATURE 5: POTHOLES
DESCRIPTION:

ridges of more resistant rock around which a river

is forced to wind as it passes downstream in the
upper course

EXPLAIN HOW THE FEATURE WAS FORMED:

In the upper course the river does not have a huge amount of
energy to erode as it does not have a high discharge and it has to
transport large pieces of sediment.

When the river meets areas of harder rock that are

difficult to erode it winds around them.
A series of hills form on either side of the river
called spurs.
As the river flows around these hills they become
interlocked.

FEATURE 6: RAPIDS
Description:

Upper course
Rough, often white water, where the flow of the river is more turbulent.

Explanation:

Caused by a localised increase in gradient (where the river is steeper) and the
water is shallow, and the river bed rocky and irregular, making the water rough
OR they can be caused where the river flows over alternating bends of harder
and softer rock

LANDFORMS IN THE RIVERS MIDDLE & LOWER COURSE

Task: delete the incorrect option from the bullet points below

river channel is wider and deeper/ narrower and

more shallow
Discharge is lower/ higher (river has been fed by
many tributaries)
Gentler/ steeper gradient
Lower/ Higher velocity
surrounding valley has also become narrower/
wider and steeper/flatter in cross-section
more/less extensive floodplain
increased/ decreased sinuosity with many
meanders (bends) in the river.

FEATURE 7: MEANDERS
The greater volume of water carried by the river in lowland areas results in lateral (sideways) erosion being more
dominant than vertical erosion, causing the channel to cut into its banks forming meanders.

Explain how a meander is formed

1. Water flows fastest on the outer bend of the river where the channel is deeper and there is less friction.
This is due to water being flung towards the outer bend as it flows around the meander, this causes greater
erosion which deepens the channel, in turn the reduction in friction and increase in energy results in greater
erosion. This lateral erosion results in undercutting of the river bank and the formation of a steep sided river
cliff.
2. In contrast, on the inner bend water is slow flowing, due to it being a low energy zone, deposition occurs
resulting in a shallower channel. This increased friction further reduces the velocity (thus further reducing
energy), encouraging further deposition. Over time a small beach of material builds up on the inner bend; this
is called a slip-off slope.
Meanders migrate downstream as they cut through
the valley sides. This creates a line of parallel cliffs
along the sides of the valley.
*Remember - a meander is asymmetrical in crosssection
It is deeper on the outer bend (due to greater
erosion) and
shallower on the inside bend (an area of
deposition).
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Label the cross section of the meander

Annotate the photograph, to both describe the features of a meander

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FEATURE 8: OX-BOW LAKES

In the lower course the rapid lateral erosion cuts into
the neck of the meander, narrowing it considerably.
Eventually the force of the river breaks through the
neck, and as this is the easiest way for the water to
go, the old meander is left without any significant
amount of water flowing through it.
Quickly the river deposits material along the side of
its new course, which completely block off the old
meander, creating an ox-bow lake.

TASK: Sort out the sentences into the correct order to explain the formation of an ox-bow lake. Write out
the correct paragraph in the space below

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TASK: DRAW A SERIES OF ANNOTATE DIAGRAMS TO EXPLAIN THE FORMATION OF MEANDERS AND OX BOW
LAKES

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FEATURE 9: FLOOD PLAIN

DESCRIPTION:

EXPLAIN THE FORMATION OF A FLOOD PLAIN:

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FEATURE 10: LEVEE

DESCRIPTION:

EXPLAINATION:

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FEATURE 11: DELTA

DESCRIPTION:
Area of low lying, flat marshy land where the river meets the sea
There are often lakes or lagoons within the delta
The river channel divides in distributaries, which re-join to form a braided drainage pattern
The Greek letter D is delta, which describes the shape
EXPLAINATION
Deltas occur where a river that carries a large amount of sediment (mostly mud and silt) meets a
lake or the sea.
This meeting causes the river to lose energy and drop the sediment it is carrying.
The loss of velocity (energy) leads to the deposition of the rivers load, which builds up gradually
to form the delta.
Over time, the delta expands out into the sea or lake
Continued deposition blocks the rivers main channel, which in tern leads to the formation of
distributaries
The top of the delta is a fairly flat surface. This is where the coarsest river load is dropped. The finer
particles are carried into deeper water. The silt is dropped to form a steep slope on the edge of the delta
while the clay stays in suspension until it reaches the deeper water.

Deltas form two types, called arcuate and birds foot.

An arcuate delta is one, which builds out into the sea, extending the coast line, as the Nile
Deltadoes in Egypt.
A bird's foot delta is an extension of this as "fingers"of material form further off the edge of the
delta. The delta of the Mississippi river shows these characteristics.

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RIVERS REVISION TABLE

Complete the following table, using your notes to help you.

Upper Course

Middle Course

Lower Course

Characteristics

Landscape Features

Erosion and Deposition

Transportation

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