Geography

What are the features of a river’s long profile?

Geography

What are the features of a river’s long profile?

● We are going to learn about
how a river changes from its
source in the mountains to its
mouth
● Along this long profile, we
find distinct features

Source: Oak National Academy

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 Pause the video to complete your task
Task: Using the words below, add the correct labels to the diagram for A,
B and C

Source: OCR, GCSE

Geography, Paper
Evaporation B563/01, 2012

Precipitation A C
Interception B

Resume once you’re

finished
Did you get?

A)Precipitation ✔
B)Interception ✔
C)Evaporation ✔ A C
B

Source: OCR, GCSE Geography, Paper B563/01, 2012

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Erosion is the wearing away and removal of the river bed and
banks by the power of the water

● Vertical erosion - erosion which takes place downwards

● Lateral erosion - erosion which wears away the side of the

river banks, widening meanders in the river

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Deposition is when a river
loses energy and so drops the
sediment and rocks (its load) it
is carrying

Credit: Image courtesy of Andy Owen

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 The long profile or a river
We are going to look at the long
profile of a river

It is split into three sections:

● Upper course
● Middle course
● Lower course
Credit: The long profile of a river is an extract from GCSE Geography AQA
published by Oxford University Press. © Oxford University Press. All rights
are reserved.

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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Credit: Image
courtesy of Mr
Burton

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 Pause the video to complete your task

Task: For each of the following statements, say which course of the river they apply to
- upper, middle or lower

1) The river is narrowest here

2) The river is widest here
3) Lots of vertical erosion is taking place here
4) Meanders and oxbow lakes are generally found here
5) The gradient (slope) is steepest here

Resume once you’re finished

Did you get?

1) The river is narrowest here - upper course ✔

2) The river is widest here - lower course ✔
3) Lots of vertical erosion is taking place here - upper course ✔
4) Meanders and oxbow lakes are generally found here - middle course ✔
5) The gradient (slope) is steepest here - upper course ✔

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 vertical erosion
The upper course

● V-shaped valley
● Narrow and shallow river

Credit: Image courtesy of Andy Owen, Cardingmill Valley

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 The upper course Credit: Pikist - Unknown
author - Giessbach Falls

● Waterfall formed by vertical

erosion

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 The middle course

● Meanders
● Wider and deeper river

lateral erosion

Credit: Image courtesy of Andy Owen, River Severn

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 The lower course

● River is at its widest and

deepest

Credit: Wikimedia Commons - John Clive Nicholson - The Tyne

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 The lower course

● Flat area of land either side of

the river known as a floodplain
● Formed by deposition

Credit: Geograph - Oast House Archive - River Cuckmere

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 Pause the video to complete your task

Task: For each of the following statements, write down whether they are true or false.
If they are false, say why they are false

1) Not much vertical erosion takes place in the upper course

2) Valleys in the upper course of a river are V-shaped
3) Meanders are where lateral erosion is taking place
4) In the lower course, the river is very narrow and shallow
5) As you travelled down a river’s profile, its gradient would decrease

Resume once you’re finished

Did you get?
1) Not much vertical erosion takes place in the upper course - False. Lots of vertical
erosion takes place here (this is how waterfalls form).

2) Valleys in the upper course of a river are V-shaped - True.

3) Meanders are where lateral erosion is taking place - True.

4) In the lower course, the river is very narrow and shallow - False. The river is widest
and deepest here.

5) As you travelled down a river’s profile, its gradient would decrease - True.

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 Pause the video to complete your task
Main task: Imagine that you have been on a geography field trip and
walked from a river’s source to its mouth. You must write a letter describing
how the river changed through the different courses. Use your completed
diagram and the success criteria below to write your letter

Success criteria:
1. The relief of the land is described for each course
2. The shape and depth of the river is described for each course
3. At least one process is mentioned in each course
4. At least one feature is mentioned in each course
Does this meet the success criteria?
Dear friend,

I have had a very tiring day walking from the source to mouth. I saw some spectacular
things. For example in the upper course the land was very steep, here the river was narrow
and my teacher says vertical erosion happens in this part of the river, this is erosion that
goes downwards. In the middle course the land gets much flatter and there are meanders. In
the lower course the land gets really flat.

Feedback to this student:

● Relief and shape of the land mentioned for upper course. No details on river’s depth.
Process included though no feature
● Middle and lower course are too brief. Only relief mentioned for both
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 Pause the video to complete your task
Main task: Imagine that you have been on a geography field trip and
walked from a river’s source to its mouth. You must write a letter describing
how the river changed through the different courses. Use your completed
diagram and the success criteria below to write your letter

Success criteria:
1. The relief of the land is described for each course
2. The shape and depth of the river is described for each course
3. At least one process is mentioned in each course
4. At least one feature is mentioned in each course
Geography

What are the features of a river’s long profile?

Mr Burton