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It is said that by doubling the velocity of a river, its transporting power is increased by
more than 10 times.

GC Leong: Summary of Landforms Made By Running Water River Erosion and Transportation Processes
1. Corrasion / Abrasion
Mechanical grinding of river’s traction load against the banks & bed of the river.
Denudation is general lowering of earth’s surface by agents of erosion such as Wind,
The rock fragments hurdle against the sides as well as bottom of the river leading to
Water, Ice, Waves etc.
lateral & vertical corrosion.
Unlike glaciers & snow, which are confined to cold & temperate latitudes; waves, which
Lateral corrasion is sideways erosion which widens the V shaped valley.
acts only on coastlines; winds, are only efficient in deserts; the effect of running water is
Vertical corrasion is the downward action which deepens the river channel.
felt all over the world, thus, making it the most important agent of denudation.
The source of river is generally found in an upland region with a slope down for the ran 2. Corrosion / Solution
offs. Chemical action of water on soluble or partly soluble rocks with which river come into
Hence, the uplands form the catchment areas of the rivers & the crest of mountains contact. For Example: in case of Calcium carbonate.
become the divide or watershed from which the streams flows down the slope.
3. Hydraulic Action
The initial stream that exists as a consequence of the slope is called the consequent
Mechanical loosening & sweeping away of materials by river water.
stream.
Mainly by surging into the crevices & cracks of rocks & disintegrating them.
As the consequent stream wears down the surface, it is joined by several tributaries from
either side. 4. Attrition
Wear & tear of transported material among them when they roll and collide into one
Processes of River Action
another.
When a river flows it carries with it eroded materials which can be divided into 3 distinct
types Upper Mountain Course (Youth Stage)

The ability of river to move the various grades of materials depends greatly on the
volume of the water, velocity of the flow & size, shape and weight of the load.

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For example in given figure, Stream A may eventually break through the divide & capture
& pirate stream B.
The bend at which the piracy occurs is termed as Elbow of the capture & the beheaded
stream is called as misfit.
The graded long profile and typical cross section of a river from source to mouth
The valley below the elbow is wind gap which may be useful for road & rail route.
Begins at the source of the river near the watershed, generally at the crest or mountain
2. Rapids, Cataracts & Waterfalls
range.
Liable to occur in any part of river course but most numerous in mountains course where
Flow is very swift as it descends the steep slopes & predominant action of the river is
changes in gradient are more abrupt & frequent.
vertical erosion.
Due to unequal resistance of hard & soft rocks transverse by a river, the outcrop of hard
Valley developed is thus deep, narrow & distinctively V shaped which sometimes results
rock may cause a river to jump & fall, known as Rapids.
in formation of gorges & canyons.
Similar falls of greater dimensions are referred as Cataracts.
Some of the features associated with the upper course of the river
1. River Capture
Also known as river piracy or river beheading.
Its development depends upon different rate of back cutting (headward erosion) into a
divide mainly due to difference in precipitation received by streams.
If one side of the divide cut more rapidly than the other then its greater erosive power
will succeed in enlarging its basin at the expense of weaker stream.

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Rapids, cataracts In the lower course, the loops are enlarged across the level plain & meanders are fully
When river plunges down in a sudden fall via. some height, they are called Waterfalls. developed.
Their greater force usually wears out a plunge pool beneath.

Interlocking spurs

2. River cliffs & Slip off slopes

Middle or Valley Course (Maturity Stage)

In the middle course, lateral corrasion tends to replace vertical corrasion; active
corrasion of the bank thus widens V shaped valleys.
Volume of water increases with the confluence of many tributaries which increases
river’s load.
The work of the river is predominantly transportation with some deposition in clearer
manner, although velocity does not decrease. Meanders

Some of the features associated with the Middle course of the river When the flow of water PQ enters the bend of the river, it dashes straight into Q, eroding
1. Interlocking spurs the outer bank into a steep river cliff at Q.
Downstream, interlocking spurs that project from both side of the valley are cut back The water piles up on the outside of the bend due to centrifugal force.
into a line of bluffs. A bottom current RS is setup in a cork screw motion & is hurled back into midstream &
Rainwash, soil creeps, landslides & gullying gradually widens the valley, cutting back the inner bank. Shingle is thus deposited here at S, where the slip off is gentle.
sides. The outer bank is therefore the bank of continuous erosion & the inner bank is the bank
As the stream flows on, the meanders migrate progressively outward with the of continuous deposition.
interlocking spurs alternating with the undercut slopes.
Meanders in the middle course are only the beginning of the downward swing as bends 3. Meanders
As water flowing under gravity seldom flows straight for long distance, a winding course
are restricted by the interlocking spurs.
soon develops.

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The irregularities of the ground forces the river to swing in loops forming Meanders. There comes a time, when the river cuts through the narrow neck of the loop,
abandoning an Ox-bow lake & then flows straight.
Lower or Plain Course (Old Stage)
The ox-bow lake will later degenerate into a swamp through subsequent floods that may
The river moving downstream across a broad, level plain is heavy with debris brought
silt up the lake, thus becoming marshy & eventually dries up.
down from the upper course.
Vertical corrasion has almost ceased though lateral corrasion still goes on to erode its
banks further.
Volume of water is greatly swelled with work of the river is mainly depositional, building
up its bed & forming flood plains.

Some of the features associated with the plain course of the river
The formation of an ox bow lake
1. Flood Plain
During sporadic floods, large quantity of sediments are spread over the low lying Delta
adjacent areas by the rivers, thus gradually building up a fertile flood plain. When the river reaches the sea, the tine materials it has not dropped yet are deposited

When the river flows normally its bed is raised through accumulation of deposits.
Material is also deposited on the sides forming raised banks called Levees.
In an attempt to minimize the risk of the floods, artificial embankments are erected on
the natural levees.
Nowadays, huge dredgers are also brought up in use to deepen the channels to avoid
excessive sedimentation.
at its mouth, forming a fan shaped alluvial area called a delta.
The alluvial tract is in fact the seaward extension of the flood plains.
Due to obstruction caused by the deposited alluvium, the river may discharge its water
through several channels called distributaries.

The formation of deltas

(a) Stages in the formation of a delta
Section of a flood plain (with levee
and artificial embankment)

2. Ox-Bow Lakes (Dead Lake)

In the lower course of the river, a meander becomes very much pronounced.
(b) Section through the lower course of a river,
The outside bank is so rapidly eroded that the river becomes almost a complete circle. showing flood plain and delta

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 12/23/23, 12:46 PM GC Leong: Summary of Landforms Made By Running Water - Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download
Favourable conditions for delta are
Active vertical & lateral erosion in upper course of the river to provide extensive
sediments.
Coast should be sheltered preferably tideless & no strong current at right angle to the
mouth of the river washing away the sediments.
Sea adjoining the delta should be shallow or else the load will disappear in deep waters.
No large lakes in the river course to filter off sediments.
River Rejuvenation
When in the course, if the river parts are uplifted or depressed, they rejuvenate the river
& make it young again.
Rejuvenation mainly occurs when there is either a fall in sea level relative to the level of
the land or a rise of the land relative to the sea known as negative movements leading to
fall in river’s base level.
This steepens the slope so that river’s eroding power or down cutting is renewed.
River with its renewed vigour cuts into the former plain, leaving behind traces on both
sides of the river.
Point where the old & rejuvenated profile meet is called Knick point, which can be seen
as waterfalls and rapids.
If rejuvenation occurs in upper course, the river valleys are deepened & steep sided
gorges are formed.
In middle & lower course vertical corrasion replaces lateral corrasion & thus the existing
meanders are vertically eroded by the rejuvenated stream.
A distinct new trench is cut in old valley & the river develops a deep valley with incised
meanders; which are of 2 types’ entrenched meanders & ingrown meanders.
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12/23/23, 12:46 PM GC Leong: Summary of Landforms Made By Running Water - Geography for UPSC CSE PDF Download
A rejuvenating river can erode vertically into the former flood plain to produce features
called river terraces.
If vertical erosion is rapid then paired terraces are formed either side of the channel.
If vertical erosion is slower though, unpaired terraces form as the river is given
opportunity to meander.
River terraces are particularly useful for settlements as they provide flat areas above the
present floodplain.
Oxford, Cambridge and London all are developed on the river terraces of the Isis, Cam
and Thames respectively.
A positive movement occurs when there is either a rise in sea level relative to the level of
the land or a fall of the land relative to the sea level.
This will submerge the land along the coast, drown the valleys & weaken the erosive
power of the river.
The lower course of the river may be partly in the sea & features of deposition are
shifted in the middle course; with the upper course affected only a little.
Rise in the sea level mainly occurs due to release of the water locked up in the ice masses
during the Quaternary ice ages.
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River terraces and knickpoint due to

rejuvenation
The rejuvenated river outs down into
previously deposited sediments to form a
new valley leaving terraces at either side- At
the head of rejuvenation the river falls to its
new valley at a knickpoint

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