Rivers

Main processes of river erosion in the upper

course.
Erosion is the wearing away of the land. There
are different types of erosion:
(i) Hydraulic action: This process involves the
force of water against the bed and banks

-Hydraulic power is high below waterfall and

rapids where it will cause rocks to fragments
especially when joints and bedding planes,
and lines of weakness are present.

-Outside bend of river, Hydraulic action lead to

undercutting and collapse of river banks to
form cliffs

(ii) Abrasion/Corrasion: This is the process by

which the bed and banks are worn down by
the rivers load. The river throws these
particles against the bed and banks,
sometimes at high velocity

When active: River at bankfull/flood

How it looks like: The river appears brown,
charged with sand and silt.
(iii)Attrition: Material (the load) carried by the
river bump into each other and so are

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 smoothed and broken down into smaller
particles.

• When river flows over bedrock the erosion of

bedrock most effective by corrasion and
result in pot holes.
• When a river flows over alluvial channel
erosion is effective by hydraulic action.

(iv) Corrosion This is the chemical action of river

water. The acids in the water slowly dissolve
the bed and the banks.

-Most active on rocks that contain carbonates

such as limestone and chalk and silicate such
as quartz.

Erosion of river channel:

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1. Lateral erosion:
It occurs when a river does not follow a
straight path but meanders, swinging
from side to side.
The strongest current flows around the
outside of the bend and hydraulic action
and corrosion cause the riverbanks to
be undermined and collapse.
It is most active where a river transports
a large load or during short-lived flood
under desert conditions.
Valley widening is due more to
weathering and slope transport than
lateral erosion by rivers.

2. Vertical erosion:
Characteristic of fast-flowing rivers that
are transporting a large bedload of
coarse, hard particles.
The particles abrade and pothole
causing rapid lowering of river bed.
Such rivers tend to flow in deep, narrow
gorges, as resistant rocks of the valley
slopes restrict weathering of slopes
either side.

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 3. Headward erosion:
This process occur at the source of the
river or at point where the long profile of
the river is locally steep, e.g. at a
waterfall, where the gradual retreat of
the waterfall takes place.

In the upper course,

o The river channel is small, narrow and
rough and usually shallow.
o The stones and rocks increase wetted
perimeter.
o The volume of water is low as there
are very few tributaries flowing into it.

What Landforms occur in the upper

course of a river?
1. V-shaped valleys and interlocking spurs
2. Rapids
3. Waterfalls

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How are these landforms created?
Why do V-Shaped valleys occur?
1. In upper course of a river vertical
erosion dominates as the stream
cuts downwards.
2. Weathering and erosion on the valley
sides removes material cause valley
sides to retreat forming a V-shaped
valley.
3. This material moves downslope and
it may eventually enter the stream
channel where over time river will
erode and transport it downstream.
4. If the river removes the material
transported downslope (by slope
processes) more quickly than
material is provided then a steeper
valley is produced.

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The steepness of the valley sides depends
upon several factors:
(i) Climate-Valley is steeper when there is
sufficient rainfall; for mass movement to
occur, create enough discharge to
transport bedload and erode vertically or
river cross desert areas to wash down
valley sides e.g. Grand Canyon.

(ii) Rock structure- Resistant, permeable

rocks such as limestone produce vertical
sides in contrast impermeable rocks such

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 as clay are likely to produce more gentle
slopes.

(iii) Vegetation- Vegetation help to bind soil

together and thus keep hillslope more
stable.

Interlocking spur:
Look at the two photograph and
answer the questions given below:

Watkins Glen, New York State, USA.

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Tributary valley dissecting the Long Mynd

Qn:
1. (a) Compare the photographs shown
in Figures 2 and 3.

(b) Suggest reasons for the differences

you observe.

Interlocking Spurs

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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. So, a series of interlocking
spurs are often found in the upper course
of a river valley.

Waterfalls and rapids:

1. Waterfalls and rapids occur where
the long profile of a river is steep.
2. This is usually the result of an
outcrop of more resistant rock, often
called the cap rock, overlying a
softer rock.
3. Erosion, especially by Hydraulic
power of the water, is concentrated
in the plunge pool at the base of the
waterfall.

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 4. The waterfall becomes undercut and
the hard cap rock above periodically
collapses resulting in headward
erosion of the waterfall and the
formation of a gorge of recession.

Case study-Iguaçu Falls, Brazil.

The Iguaçu River, a tributary of the Parana, forms part of the border
between Brazil and Argentina. At one point along its course the Iguaçu
plunges 80m over a 3 km wide crescent-shaped precipice. The Iguaçu
Falls occur where the river leaves the resistant basaltic lava which
forms the southern edge of the Brazilian plateau and flows onto less
resistant rock, wile their crescent shape results from the retreat of the
falls upstream.

By the end of the rainy season (January/February) up to 4 million litres

of water a day can pour over the individual cascades-numbering up to
275-which combine to form the falls. The main attraction is the Devil’s
Throat where 14 separate falls unite to create a deafening noise,
volumes o spray, foaming water and a large rainbow. In contrast, by
the end of the dry season (June/July) river levels may be very low-
indeed, for one month in 1978 it actually dried up.

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POTHOLES:
1. Active corrosion along a stream bed produces potholes especially
in fast-flowing rivers with strong eddying.
2. Potholes are cylindrical holes drilled into the bedrock by
turbulent high velocity flow.
3. The eddying creates a shallow bowl that may become occupied
by small stones and pebbles.
4. The constant swirling of the pebbles deepens the depression into
pothole in a process called pothole drilling.
5. Adjacent potholes join together creating sudden and deepening
of channels such as at the Strid on the River Wharfe, in North
Yorhshire.

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Key Ideas
(i) Erosion is the main process operating in the upper course of a
river

(ii)The direction of erosion is vertical

(ii)There are four main types of erosion-hydraulic action, attrition,

abrasion and corrosion.

(iv)Valleys are v-shaped with interlocking spurs.

(v)Waterfalls are formed where a river meets a band of less

resistant rock. Plunge pools and gorges are features associated with
the formation of waterfalls.

(vi)Rapids are smaller scale features formed where finer bands of

varying resistance of rock are found.

(vii)Potholes are cylindrical holes drilled into the bedrock by

turbulent high velocity flow by active corrosion along a stream bed,
especially in fast-flowing rivers with strong eddying. Adjacent
potholes join together creating sudden and deepening of channels

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