GEOGRAPHY

for Cambridge
International
AS & A Level

Muriel Fretwell
David Kelly
John Nanson

Oxford excellence for Cambridge AS & A Level

Contents
AS Level
Core Physical Geography
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology 2
2 Atmosphere and weather 34
3 Rocks and weathering 72

Core Human Geography

4 Population 96
5 Migration 132
6 Settlement dynamics 166

A Level
Advanced Physical Geography Options
7 Tropical environments 204
8 Coastal environments 241
9 Hazardous environments 282
10 Hot arid and semi-arid environments 324

Advanced Human Geography Options

11 Production, location and change 358
12 Environmental management 398
13 Global interdependence 432
14 Economic transition 465

iii
1 Hydrology and fluvial
geomorphology
In this chapter you will learn about:
How the hydrological cycle operates in general terms and the more specific ways in which water moves through a
¼¼
drainage basin.
How storm and annual hydrographs are influenced by the climate and by the characteristics of the drainage basin.
¼¼
How the processes of erosion, transportation, deposition and sedimentation shape the river channel and help to
¼¼
produce the landforms found along the river’s course.
How people use rivers and how people contribute to the causes and effects of floods. The prediction, prevention and
¼¼
amelioration of river floods.

The drainage basin The hydrological cycle is the way that water moves from the
sea, through the air, onto (and into) the land, and back into
system the sea. It is driven by the sun’s heat and by gravity. It is often
known simply as the water cycle.

The hydrological cycle At any one time, the Earth’s water is distributed as follows:

The hydrological cycle is an example of a model (or 97 per cent is in the sea
¼¼
theory). Geographers use models to help them describe 2.1 per cent is frozen as snow and ice (mostly Greenland
¼¼
and explain reality. The real world is complex and is often and Antarctica)
difficult to understand so geographers use models to simplify 0.8 per cent is fresh water in rivers, lakes and the ground
¼¼
it. Models are useful because they help us understand the
important processes and cycles that occur on the Earth’s 0.1 per cent is in the atmosphere.
¼¼
surface. However, because they are simplifications, they People use fresh water and fresh water accounts for less than
don’t always tell the full story and they should be used with 1 per cent of all the water on the planet. It is this 0.9 per cent
care. The hydrological cycle is a useful and versatile model of the Earth’s water that is involved in the hydrological cycle
because it can be applied at a range of scales, so the model at any one time. This is why we need to fully understand the
applies to any land area on Earth. hydrological cycle in order to use the available fresh water as
efficiently and effectively as possible.

The Sun
Clouds

Precipitation
The atmosphere Rain
Condensation
Snow
Snow
HEAT
Forced to rise
Water vapour Wind
Mountains
T E am
E e
Str
Ground
Evaporation water
River Lake Key:
River
E = Evaporation
T = Transpiration
The sea The land

Fig. 1.1 The hydrological cycle

2
1. Study Fig. 1.1 and then write a short paragraph to
describe and explain the movement of water around
the hydrological cycle. It should begin ‘The sun shines
down on the sea and…’.

The drainage basin as a

system
This is the part of the hydrological cycle which operates
once rain has fallen onto a drainage basin. It is known as
the drainage basin system because it has inputs, stores, flows
and outputs. Geographers often use a systems approach in
their studies. As with models, the systems approach allows
geographers to simplify reality in order to understand it. Fig. 1.3 The source of a river. This photograph shows a
stream rising from a series of springs. The water simply rises
The drainage basin system is an open, dynamic system: open from the ground and flows off downhill as a new stream
because water and energy flow into, through and out of the
drainage basin; dynamic because the system responds to 2. Write definitions of the following terms:
changes in its inputs: e.g. river discharge varies in response · Interfluve
to changing inputs of precipitation.
· Source
We have to understand the drainage basin system in order
· Tributary
to be able to understand how rivers behave, especially if
we want to explain changes in river discharge and river · Confluence
flooding. · Mouth.

The drainage basin Precipitation

Evapotranspiration
e.g. rainfall
A drainage basin is the area of land drained by a river and its
tributaries. A drainage basin supplies a river with its water.

Interfluve Interception
Key: (vegetation)
(watershed)
S = Source
T = Tributary S S S
C = Confluence T T S Drip
M = Mouth T C C T
S S
T C S
T Surface
C Overland
C puddles flow
M

Infiltration River
Sea channel

Soil Throughflow
Fig. 1.2 A diagram of a typical drainage basin Channel
Geographers in different parts of the world often use flow out
Percolation of basin
different words for the same thing. This is the case here. In
the UK, ‘drainage basin’ is the phrase used to describe the
Bedrock Base
area of land drained by a river and its tributaries. Some UK (groundwater) flow
geographers also use the phrase ‘river catchment’. This phrase
is also used in the USA, as is the word ‘watershed’. Confusion Key
arises here because in the UK the word ‘watershed’ is used Input
Store
for the boundary of a drainage basin, not for the drainage Flow
basin itself. It is probably best to avoid the word ‘watershed’ Output
and stick to ‘drainage basin’ and ‘interfluve’.
Fig. 1.4 The drainage basin system – a flow diagram

3
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Precipitation
(rain and snow) Air
Evapotranspiration

Precipitation
Transpiration
Interception Evaporation
w Infiltration Soil
Drip nd flo
Surface Overla
storage
Percolation
Stem Channel
Soil pecipitation Rock
flow w
moisture o
ghfl
storage rou Water table
Th
Transpiration
Groundwater
storage

Baseflow (groundwater flow)

Channel flow

Fig. 1.5 The drainage basin system – a pictographic representation. This shows a cross-section of a river valley. The stream
is flowing ‘out of the page’, towards the reader

Fig. 1.4 shows the drainage basin system reduced to its basic Interception
components. This is a combination of a model with the This is rain which is intercepted before it reaches the
systems approach. surface of the ground. It is usually intercepted by vegetation,
The drainage basin system only has one input especially by the leaves of trees. During a short summer
(precipitation) but has two outputs: evapotranspiration shower it is possible to stay dry by standing under a tree
and channel flow (river discharge). This helps us because the tree’s leaves ‘intercept’ and ‘store’ the raindrops
understand the ways in which rivers operate. If two before they reach the ground.
basins have identical inputs of precipitation, but the first
basin has much more evapotranspiration than the second Throughfall (drip) and stemflow
basin, the first basin will have much less water in the In a prolonged rainstorm, the leaves become saturated and
main river (discharge) than the second basin. This simple water will begin to drip to the ground. Stemflow is another
fact has huge implications for the way that rivers behave important way in which water moves from the tree to the
in different climate zones and from season to season. ground, simply flowing down the outside of the tree trunk.
Fig. 1.4 also shows that there are only three flows which
provide water to the river: overland flow, throughflow
Surface storage, infiltration and
and baseflow (groundwater flow). These flows operate overland flow
at different speeds and the balance of the flows in any The first rain that reaches the ground will probably soak into
830702_aw01.04 a level geography the soil (infiltration). The speed at which it can do this depends
one drainage basin will determine how quickly a river
Barking dog art
responds to an input of rainfall. A basin with a high on the nature of the surface and the permeability of the soil.
proportion of water reaching the river via overland flow During prolonged and/or heavy rainfall, the infiltration
will tend to have flash floods. A basin where most of the capacity is exceeded and water starts to build up on the
water reaches the river via baseflow may never experience surface. This is surface storage and produces puddles. On a
serious flooding. slope, this surface water will flow downhill towards the river,
producing overland flow (surface runoff ). Overland flow is a
Despite the advantages of simplified diagrams, sometimes
relatively quick process. When the soil is saturated and rain
it helps to add a little more complexity in order to
continues to fall, the rainfall will then produce surface runoff.
understand the details more clearly (see Fig. 1.5).
This runoff is called saturated overland flow.

The components of the Urban surfaces such as concrete are designed to be flat
and impermeable. They rapidly produce Hortonian
drainage basin system overland flow, which is shallow, laminar, and fast-moving.
Hortonian overland flow is most commonly encountered
Precipitation on city streets, construction sites and dirt roads in the
Water falling from the sky. Rain is the most important form countryside. This process poses a significant problem
of precipitation. in steep, recently ploughed rural areas, where the water
4
flowing over the surface can build up great speed and unsustainably and they will eventually dry up. This is because
contribute to serious soil erosion. the rate of recharge (water moving from the surface into the
rocks) is much slower than the rate of abstraction.
Soil storage, percolation, and
throughflow Evapotranspiration
In the soil, water is held in pores, so soil often feels quite damp. Water evaporates from leaves, puddles and streams. The
¼¼
rate depends on the temperature of the water, the warmth
Clay soil has very small pores and does not let water pass
¼¼
and humidity of the air, and the speed of the wind.
through it easily – it is an impermeable soil, but holds
water well. Infiltration rates of 0–4 mm/hour are typical. Plants draw water from the soil through their roots and
¼¼
allow it to evaporate into the air through their leaves. The
Sandy soil has many large pores and allows water to pass
¼¼
water vapour exits the leaves through the stomata, pores
through it easily. The pores are gaps between the sand
which are found on the underside of the leaf. We call
grains and they make the sand porous. It is this porosity
this transpiration.
which makes the sandy soil permeable, but losing its water
very quickly. Infiltration rates of 6–12 mm/hour are typical. Together, we refer to this water loss from the basin as
¼¼
evapotranspiration. It is an important output of water from
A permeable soil allows water to pass through it in two ways.
the basin and in an equatorial rainforest area it can amount
Water that flows down into the bedrock is called percolation.
to 80 per cent of the total output of water from the basin.
Water that flows downhill through the soil, parallel to the
surface, is called throughflow. Throughflow gets water to the
Channel flow
river more slowly than overland flow, but faster than baseflow.
Rainfall reaches the river via overland flow, throughflow and
Infiltration baseflow. Once it is in the river it flows downhill towards
Air
the sea as river discharge. This is another output from the
Overland
flow
drainage basin.
Soil
Through
flow
3. (a) Copy and complete the following table using the
Bedrock words listed below:
Percolation Inputs Flows Stores Outputs

Fig. 1.6 Water in the soil

Groundwater and baseflow

Water that percolates into the bedrock is called groundwater.
This water flows down through the rocks until it reaches the Evapotranspiration Infiltration Soil
level of saturation or water table. Most groundwater eventually Vegetation Baseflow Drip (throughfall)
flows down through the rocks towards the nearest river. We call
Overland flow Bedrock Ground water
this baseflow or groundwater flow and it is normally a very
slow process indeed. The water table moves up and down, Rainfall Percolation Stem flow
depending on the amount of rainfall percolating downwards Throughflow Puddles
and the amount of baseflow flowing out of the rocks into the
(b) Name the output not listed in the table.
river. Where the water table reaches the surface other than at
a river bed, groundwater reappears as a spring (see Fig. 1.3 on
page 3). Where the rock structure is favourable, groundwater The drainage basin system
can remain in the rocks for a very long time. In the Sahara,
there are underground stores of groundwater (aquifers) which
and human activity
People need water for many purposes including agriculture.
fell as rain thousands of years ago.
Farmers need to have water in the soil in order to grow their
Groundwater is an important source of fresh water. Wells can crops. The amount of water in the soil depends on the balance
be dug and boreholes can be drilled down to the water table between precipitation and potential evapotranspiration.
and the groundwater can be extracted. Because it has been Actual evapotranspiration is the amount of water that
filtered through the rocks, this water is normally very pure. leaves the drainage basin in the form of water vapour going
Because of the continuous operation of the hydrological cycle, back to the atmosphere. Potential evapotranspiration is the
water is a renewable resource, but if groundwater is extracted amount of water that could go back to the atmosphere if an
faster than it is replaced, the water table will fall and the well unlimited supply of soil moisture was available. For example,
will dry up. For example, the Saharan aquifers are being used
5
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

in a desert area such as Egypt, rainfall is about 45 mm It is usually stated in the form of an equation:
per year. The actual evapotranspiration is also 45 mm S=P−Q−E
per year because that is all the water that is available.
However, the climate of Egypt is so hot and dry that the where S = soil storage
potential evapotranspiration is over 2000 mm per year. P = precipitation
The balance between the precipitation and potential Q = channel flow out of the basin
evapotranspiration is known as the water budget.
E = evapotranspiration.
The water budget (or water balance) is an ‘accounting’
of the inputs and outputs of water. It can be determined This water balance equation is used by hydrologists to plan and
by calculating the inputs, outputs and storage changes of manage water supply within a drainage basin. It can be used
water in the drainage basin. The input of water is from to suggest possible water supply shortages for which special
precipitation and outputs are evapotranspiration and measures like hosepipe bans can be introduced to preserve
channel flow. water stocks. It has implications for irrigation, pollution
control and flooding, too. The water balance changes from
season to season.

Case study: Malaga in southern Spain

Key
FRANCE
Bilbao
Potential evapotranspiration
N Precipitation
Vigo
ANDORRA Soil moisture surplus
Soil moisture utilisation
Salamanca Soil moisture recharge
120
Madrid Soil moisture deficit
UGAL

SPAIN
PORT

Balearic 100
Islands

Sevilla
a 80
Malaga Se
North nean
e rra
Atlantic dit 0 200
Ocean Me
km
MM

60
Fig. 1.7 Location of Malaga
Malaga is on the Costa del Sol in southern Spain. The
Costa del Sol is an important tourist area and there are 40
many small farms producing fruit and vegetables for the
tourist hotels and for export. Farmers need enough water
in the soil for their crops to grow during the summer tourist 20
season when the crops are in great demand. The annual
rainfall is 526 mm but very little falls during the summer.
0
The important question for farmers is how much of this
J F M A M J J A S O N D
water is available in the soil for their crops. Southern Months
Spain has high summer temperatures and the potential
evapotranspiration is high at the time when rainfall is low. Fig. 1.8 Water budget graph for Malaga, Spain
The water budget graph shows this information.
Streams dry up at this time. Water supply for local
The graph for Malaga shows the problems that local people and tourists becomes a problem too – this is
farmers face. Evaporation exceeds precipitation from why there are so many reservoirs in the hills behind
April to October and the soil moisture is used up by Malaga, storing winter rainfall for use in the summer.
the end of May. From June to October there is a soil Soil moisture is recharged between November and
moisture deficit and crops will not be able to grow March, but there is only a surplus for one month.
unless irrigation water is available from reservoirs or Non-irrigated crops can only be grown during the winter
deep wells. months which are warm, as well as wet.

6
dry weather will lead to falling river levels. The type and
4. Use Fig. 1.8 to compare potential evapotranspiration
intensity of rainfall are also important. Heavy rainfall from a
with precipitation in southern Spain. You should quote
thunderstorm arrives at the surface quickly, exceeding the
figures in your answer. Remember that when you are
infiltration capacity of the soil and causing rapid surface run-
asked for a comparison you should not write two
off which increases discharge. Steady, drizzly rain arrives on
separate accounts.
the surface slowly and has more chance of infiltrating into
the soil. This slows the rate at which water reaches the river,
RESEARCH Find out what the water budget graph producing a smaller rise in discharge. Snowfall arrives on
looks like for a tropical rainforest area. Suggest how this the surface as a solid and can’t drain away. Sudden rapid
water budget might influence the nature of the natural
melting can lead to a lot of overland flow (especially if the
vegetation in the rainforest.
soil is frozen) and this increases the discharge. If the warm
weather that melts the snow is accompanied by heavy
rainfall, the discharge can be very high – the river, in effect,

Discharge receives two inputs of precipitation at the same time.

relationships within Antecedent moisture

If the ground is already saturated from previous rainfall, a
drainage basins new input of rain will not be able to infiltrate into the soil,
causing large amounts of overland flow and increasing
discharge rapidly.
River discharge
The amount of water flowing down a river at any one time Temperature and evaporation
is called the discharge of the river. Discharge is measured in When temperatures drop below freezing point, the soil
cubic meters of water per second (cumecs). Most large rivers becomes frozen and impermeable. Rain which falls on
have several gauging stations along their length, where a frozen soil runs across the surface rapidly, increasing
continuous record is kept of the river’s discharge at that point. discharge quickly. Temperature also affects evaporation
The discharge of a river changes over time, depending on the rates. When temperatures are high, evaporation is also high,
amount of precipitation, the amount of evapotranspiration resulting in less water reaching the river.
and the nature of the drainage basin itself. Drainage basins
are open, dynamic systems and changes of discharge over Transpiration and evapotranspiration
time illustrate the dynamic nature of drainage basins. Forests in a river basin tend to reduce the discharge of the
river. Increased interception and increased transpiration
Key fact 1: Any factor that increases evapotranspiration
¼¼
mean that evapotranspiration could be a more important
will reduce river discharge because water is going back
output from the drainage basin than river discharge. In the
to the atmosphere rather than into the river.
Amazon basin in Brazil, 80 per cent of the rain that falls goes
Key fact 2: Any factor that increases overland flow at the
¼¼ back to the atmosphere, reducing the discharge of the rivers.
expense of throughflow and baseflow or groundwater Vegetation also encourages infiltration and throughflow
flow will increase river discharge because overland flow rather than overland flow. This reduces the speed at which
gets water to the river much more quickly than the other rainfall reaches the river, reducing river levels.
two flows.
Seasonality
The factors affecting river In temperate areas of the world, such as Ireland, the season
discharge of the year has an important influence on river discharge.
In Ireland, rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the
Climatic factors year, but trees tend to be dormant in winter and have
The climate has a major impact on the operation of the little effect on discharge at this time of year. The colder
drainage basin system. River discharge responds to changes weather also reduces evaporation rates. This reduction in
in the input of precipitation and to changes in the outputs of evapotranspiration is a major reason why Irish river levels
evaporation and transpiration. are higher in winter. In tropical monsoon areas and in areas
with a savanna climate, seasonality is also important. Rainfall
Precipitation occurs during the summer, increasing river discharge
Precipitation is the major factor affecting river discharge during this season. In areas with a Mediterranean climate,
because it is the only input into the system. Large amounts the opposite is true. Rainfall is mostly in the winter and
of rainfall will cause river levels to rise while a period of streams tend to dry up during the summer.
7
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Drainage basin Slopes

A drainage basin with steep slopes will have more overland
characteristics flow and higher river levels than a basin with more gentle
The nature of the drainage basin affects the way water slopes where there is more time for water to infiltrate.
moves through it. Interception, infiltration and percolation
all impact on the amounts of overland flow, throughflow Vegetation type and land-use
and baseflow. These, in turn, determine the speed at which Forests growing in a river basin tend to reduce the discharge
water moves through the drainage basin to the river. The rate of the river because forests increase interception, leading to
at which water arrives at the river affects river discharge. greater evaporation. Forests also lead to increased transpiration,
which also removes water from the basin before it can reach
Size and shape of the drainage basin the river. Any land-use that creates impermeable surfaces or
Basin size is important. Smaller drainage basins collect less reduces vegetation cover tends to increase overland flow and
rainfall than larger basins and the discharge of their rivers is river discharge. Pasture land allows rainfall to soak into the
smaller as a result. Smaller basins also respond more rapidly to ground, but has less evapotranspiration than the forest it may
inputs of rainfall. In 2004, heavy rain fell on the small drainage have replaced, increasing river discharge. Floodplains tend
basin that includes Boscastle in the UK. The basin responded to be fertile and are often used for arable farming which can
so rapidly that the flash floods gave people no warning and involve the use of heavy machinery. These machines squash
no time to prepare. Basin shape also affects flooding. Circular the soil, reducing infiltration, increasing overland flow and
basins respond more promptly to rainfall inputs and have a river discharge.
higher discharge than long, narrow basins of a similar area.
5. Explain how evapotranspiration influences river discharge.
Drainage density 6. Explain how overland flow, throughflow and baseflow
This is the total length of surface streams per square km. It affect river discharge.
is related to the infiltration rate. Basins with low infiltration
7. ‘Climatic factors are more important than drainage
have more overland flow and a higher drainage density
basin characteristics when explaining variations in
than basins with high infiltration. As a result, drainage basins
river discharge’. To what extent do you agree with this
with a high drainage density respond more quickly to inputs
statement?
of rainfall so they have rapid surface run-off and a rapidly
rising, high discharge.
Hydrographs – graphing
Soil and rock type the changes in river
A drainage basin with impermeable soil and bedrock will
have a great deal of overland flow but less throughflow and discharge
baseflow. Because overland flow is a much faster process A graph showing how the river’s discharge changes over
than the other two flows, this sort of basin will have higher time is called a hydrograph.
discharge. A drainage basin with permeable (or porous)
A graph showing how a river’s discharge changes over
¼¼
soil and bedrock will have much more infiltration and
the course of one year is called an annual hydrograph.
percolation, so throughflow and baseflow (groundwater
flow) will be more important than overland flow. This will A graph showing how a river’s discharge changes over
¼¼
result in lower river discharge because throughflow and a short period of time, responding to a single input of
baseflow are much slower than overland flow. Baseflow rainfall is called a storm hydrograph.
from the large groundwater store in a basin with permeable Each of these graphs can be used by hydrologists to help
rock will also keep the summer discharge relatively high, them understand the nature of a drainage basin and
reducing seasonal variations in discharge. the factors that affect the discharge of its river. Water is
Permeable rocks allow water to pass through them for a valuable resource so it is important to understand the
different reasons. Granite and limestone contain tiny cracks, river if its water is to be used sustainably. River flooding is
mostly vertical joints and horizontal bedding planes. Water an important hazard and if people are to manage flooding
can percolate down through these rocks along the cracks and effectively, it is important to understand the way a river
we call these rocks pervious as a result. Chalk and Sandstone behaves and the factors that affect the changes in its discharge.
are made up of particles with pore spaces between the
particles. Water can soak down through the pore spaces Annual hydrographs
so these rocks are porous. Pervious limestone and porous Annual hydrographs are useful when hydrologists study
sandstone are both permeable, in that they let water percolate the responses of a river to its environment. The following
down through them, but for different reasons. examples are all taken from the British Isles.
8
102 102

Mean daily flows

Flow in cumecs

Flow in cumecs
10 10

J F M A M J J A S O N D
1967

Cold, frosty Thaw. Large Lower summer discharge Short, sharp summer Increasing discharge due
snowy period. increase due to high rates of thunderstorms. Overall to higher autumn rainfall
Discharge falls. in discharge. evapotranspiration. discharge quite low. (warm sea and frequent
depressions), falling air
temperatures and the
During spring there are several peaks (depressions) but the overall
loss of leaves.
pattern of discharge is downwards due to increasing temperatures
(more evaporation) and the growth of leaves (transpiration).

Fig. 1.9 River Dart annual hydrograph at Austin’s Bridge, Devon, UK

102 102

Mean daily flows

Flow in cumecs

Flow in cumecs
Summer thunderstorm
(conventional rain)
10 10

J F M A M J J A S O N D
1967
Falling discharge in spring due to Very low discharge in Discharge rises in the
increasing evapotranspiration. summer due to high autumn due to:
Air temperatures rise and plants evapotranspiration • Increased rainfall (warm sea
begin to grow again. rates. and frequent depressions)
• Falling air temperatures
(lower evaporation)
• Trees losing leaves
(lower transpiration).

Fig. 1.10 River Avon annual hydrograph near Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK

175
830702_aw01.08 A Level Geography This hydrograph is constructed using mean weekly 175
Barking Dog Art figures, making it look smoother than the previous
150 150
Mean weekly discharge

hydrographs which were constructed using mean

Discharge (cumecs)

Discharge (cumecs)

125 daily figures. It is also a much larger river. 125

100 100
75 75
50 50
25 25

0 0
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Month

Fig. 1.11 River Severn annual hydrograph at Montford Bridge, Shropshire, UK

9
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

The River Dart is a short river that flows from Dartmoor in

Rainfall in mm Discharge in cumecs (m3/sec)

Devon. This is a very ‘peaky’ hydrograph, typical of rivers in Peak Rising
50
western Britain. There is clearly a great deal of overland flow discharge limb
because the river responds quickly to the frequent inputs of Falling

River in flood
rainfall. This river is likely to experience flash floods. The 40 limb
underlying reasons for the way that the River Dart behaves Bankfull
are as follows: 30 discharge

high rainfall and frequent rainstorms, typical of hilly

¼¼ Rainfall
areas in western Britain 20 peak
50 Lag Storm
impermeable soil and bedrock; Dartmoor is made of
¼¼ 40 time flow
granite which encourages surface runoff at the expense 30
20
of throughflow and baseflow 10
Baseflow
0
a grass-covered drainage basin with very little forest to
¼¼ 1200 0000 1200 0000
slow down and absorb rainwater. (day 1) (day 2) (day 2) (day 3)
Approach Time (hours)
The River Avon flows across Salisbury Plain, a chalk upland segment
in southern Britain. This is a relatively smooth annual
hydrograph with low and infrequent flood peaks. There is Fig. 1.12 A typical storm hydrograph
very little overland flow but a lot of baseflow. The river is into the channel via overland flow, throughflow and
responding to seasonal changes in rainfall and evaporation baseflow. In Fig. 1.12, the discharge responds to a large
rates, rather than to individual rainstorms. Flooding is input of rainfall.
unlikely on this river. The underlying reasons for the way
Cumecs: cubic metres of water per second. The unit of
¼¼
that the River Avon behaves are as follows:
measurement for river discharge.
rainfall is relatively low in southern England
¼¼
Approach segment: the discharge before the rainstorm.
¼¼
permeable soil and bedrock; the bedrock is chalk,
¼¼
Rising limb: the discharge rises steeply after the storm,
¼¼
which is very porous and absorbs rainfall very easily.
mostly due to overland flow.
Throughflow and baseflow are much more important
than overland flow because of the high infiltration rates. Bankfull discharge: when the river channel is completely
¼¼
It might be supposed that this is a forested basin, but full. If the river rises further there will be a flood.
Salisbury Plain is actually mostly arable land or short Peak discharge: the highest level that a river reaches during
¼¼
grassland. It is the effect of the chalk bedrock which is a flood.
the dominant factor affecting the discharge of this river.
Lag time: the time between the maximum rainfall and the
¼¼
8. Study Fig. 1.11. peak discharge. Drainage basins with a lot of overland
flow have a short lag time.
(a) Describe the changes that take place in the
discharge of the River Severn between January Falling limb (or receding limb): this is when river levels fall,
¼¼
and August. after the peak discharge. It is less steep than the rising
limb because throughflow is now reaching the river.
(b) Suggest reasons for these changes. You should
consider precipitation, temperature, rock type, Stormflow: stream discharge after a rainstorm, produced
¼¼
land-use and other possible factors. (The River by a combination of overland flow and then throughflow.
Severn rises in the mountains of central Wales. It is overland flow that makes the greatest contribution to
Snowfall is common in the winter months.) the flood peak.
Baseflow (groundwater flow): Stream discharge produced by
¼¼
Storm hydrographs water seeping from the bedrock. It is a very slow process.
How a drainage basin reacts to a large input of rainfall tells us
about the nature of that drainage basin. We can then predict Influences on the shape of the
830702_aw01.11 A Level Geography
Barking Dog Art
how it will react in future to similar rainstorms and make plans storm hydrograph
to cope with the perceived flood risk. The storm hydrograph is The factors affecting the storm hydrograph are the same
crucial here; it is the drainage basin’s ‘fingerprint’. as the factors affecting river discharge. The speed at which
Definitions of some of the key words and phrases: the input of rainfall arrives in the river channel is the key
influence. It is the balance of overland flow (relatively quick),
Discharge: the amount of water in the river channel. It
¼¼
throughflow (medium speed) and baseflow (relatively slow)
varies over time and it is the result of rainwater flowing
10 that determines the shape and size of the storm hydrograph.
Precipitation
Three aspects of precipitation influence the shape and size
of the storm hydrograph:
Prolonged rainfall leads to saturated ground and a lot of
¼¼
overland flow.
Intense rainfall usually means that the infiltration
¼¼ Discharge Overland
capacity is exceeded, even in a permeable basin. This flow
produces overland flow.
Snowfall. Snow can’t flow into the river because it is
¼¼ Rain
Throughflow
frozen. Snow often melts when a depression brings more
precipitation in the form of rain. The warm air and the
rain melt the snow, so two lots of precipitation reach Baseflow
the river together. The ground under the snow is often
frozen and impermeable; therefore all the rainfall and
Time
the snowmelt run over the surface, producing a rapid
and massive input of water into the river. Fig. 1.13 The makeup of a typical storm hydrograph

Temperature After several hours or days (depending on the size of the

¼¼
In summer it is warm so evaporation is high. In winter it is drainage basin) the overland flow reduces and eventually
cold so evaporation is low and more precipitation goes into stops. By this point, throughflow is contributing to the
the river. Frozen ground leads to a lot of overland flow. river’s discharge and this stops the floodwaters going
down as quickly as they rose. As a result, the falling limb
Vegetation is not as steep as the rising limb.
Forests encourage interception, evapotranspiration and Eventually, baseflow takes over. Baseflow takes much
¼¼
infiltration. Forested areas have smaller flood peaks. longer to reach the river than the other two flows,
but because the groundwater store is vast, it keeps on
Seasonality supplying water to the river well after the rainfall has
The three factors mentioned above show that similar inputs stopped. This is why most rivers don’t dry up during a
of rainfall can have different effects on the storm hydrograph period of dry weather.
at different times of the year.

Soil and rock type

Permeable soil and rock reduce overland flow and enhance
throughflow and baseflow. Impermeable soil and rock
enhance surface runoff.
Discharge
Basin relief Overland
flow
Steep slopes and high relief in the drainage basin tend to get
water to the river quickly and create high flood peaks.
Rain
Urbanisation
Tarmac and concrete increase overland flow, so water gets Throughflow
to the river faster. Gutters and drains speed up throughflow. Baseflow

Time
Comparing storm hydrographs
Different drainage basin factors produce differing storm Fig. 1.14 The storm hydrograph of a drainage basin with a
lot of overland flow but not much throughflow and baseflow
hydrographs. We need to consider the contribution that 830702_aw01.12 A Level Geography
overland flow, throughflow and baseflow make to the typical Fig. 1.14
Barking is typical of a deforested
Dog Art drainage basin or a
storm hydrograph. drainage basin with impermeable soil and bedrock. It is
Rain falls on the drainage basin.
¼¼ also typical of an urbanised drainage basin. Notice that even
in an impermeable or deforested drainage basin there is
The overland flow arrives first and builds up the flood
¼¼ always some infiltration and percolation.
peak.
11
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Fig. 1.16 shows the storm hydrographs for two, very

similar and neighbouring drainage basins in western
Overland Washington, USA. Both drainage basins received equal
flow
inputs of rainfall from the same storm on 31 January
Rain Throughflow 2000. Discharge in Mercer Creek, an urbanised drainage
basin, increased more quickly and reached a higher peak
Discharge
than discharge in Newaukum Creek, a neighbouring
rural drainage basin of equivalent size.
Baseflow
9. Study Fig. 1.16. Suggest reasons for the differences in
the two storm hydrographs.
Time
River channel
processes and
Fig. 1.15 The storm hydrograph of a drainage basin with very
little overland flow but a great deal of throughflow and baseflow
Fig. 1.15 is typical of a well-forested drainage basin or
a drainage basin with permeable soil and bedrock. The landforms
lag time is long and peak discharge is low. Baseflow is
controlling the discharge of this river. Channel processes
The river channel is the ‘trench’ in which the river flows. It
25 is defined by the river bed and the river banks.
Key
Newaukum creek
Average daily discharge in cumecs

Mercer creek
20

15 River bank The river River bank

River bed
10
Rain
5 Fig. 1.17 A cross-section of a river channel
Water flows downhill through the river channel. Because the
0 flowing water has mass and velocity, it also has energy and it
30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6
January 2000 February 2000
uses this energy to do work, changing the shape and nature of
Date the river channel. Considerable changes to the river channel
occur as the river flows from its source to its mouth. These
Fig. 1.16 The impact of urbanisation on the storm hydrograph

The channel in the uplands: The channel in the lowlands:

• Steep gradients • Gentle gradient
• Rough bed • Smooth bed
• Narrow, shallow channel • Wide, deep channel
Source • High friction • Low friction
• High turbulence, but low speed • Low turbulence, but high speed
• Vertical erosion predominates • Lateral erosion predominates

830702_aw01.14 A Level Geography

Barking Dog Art

Mouth
Typical landforms of Note: Meanders are Typical landforms of
the upland river: found through the the lowland river:
• V-shaped valley river’s course, but they • Wide floodplain
• Interlocking spurs become most pronounced • Levees
• Waterfalls and gorges in the lowlands, on the • Delta or estuary
• Rapids floodplain. • Ox-bow lakes
• Potholes

12 Fig. 1.18 The long profile of a river channel

830702_aw01.16 a level geography
changes are illustrated by the long profile of a river channel. Abrasion – sometimes called corrasion. A river uses its load
The long profile of a river channel is a line drawn from the of sediment to wear away its bed and banks. In the uplands,
source of the river (where it starts) to the mouth of the river pebbles get caught in hollows in the river bed. As they swirl
(where it meets the sea). It shows how the gradient of the river around, the process of abrasion produces a pothole.
channel changes as it flows downhill. The typical long profile
Turbulence in the river channel
is concave – steeper in the hills and gentler in the lowlands. causes the water to swirl around.

Upstream Downstream

Discharge Abrasion occurs as the

pebbles rub against the
sides of the pothole,
widening and deepening it.
Channel width

Channel depth
Pebbles caught in the pothole
Average velocity are swirled around by the
turbulent flow.

Load quantity
Fig. 1.20 The effect of abrasion on a rocky river bed
Attrition – particles of sediment in the load of the river
Load particle size (especially the bedload) bump into each other and wear
each other away. As a result, river sediment becomes smaller
Channel bed roughness and more rounded as it is carried downstream.

Slope angle (gradient)

Fig. 1.19 Bradshaw’s model of downstream changes on a river

This diagram summarises many of the changes that take
place in the river channel as you move downstream, from the
source to the mouth. The river is an open, dynamic natural
system and Bradshaw’s model is important because it shows
that the river can respond to changes in its inputs of discharge
and sediment by changing any one of the variables shown.
Upstream, the bedload is mostly angular
10. (a) What is ‘discharge’? Describe and attempt to explain
how it changes as the river flows downstream.
(b) What is ‘load quantity’? Describe and attempt
to explain how it changes as the river flows
downstream.
(c) What is ‘load particle size’? Describe and attempt
830702_aw01.19 A Level Geography
to explain how it changes as the river flows Barking Dog Art
downstream.

River channel processes –

erosion
Erosion is the wearing away of the surface of the Earth. It is an
active process, involving movement. Rivers erode their channels
as they flow downhill towards the sea. Rivers have energy Further downstream, attrition has made the bedload much rounder,
because the river water has mass and velocity and some of this smaller and smoother
energy is used to erode the river channel in four main ways. Fig. 1.21 The effect of attrition on a river’s bedload
13
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Hydraulic action – the direct force of the flowing river water can capacity of the river is the total amount of load that it is carrying.
break material from the bed and banks. Even more powerful The competence of the river is the maximum size of particle
is the related process of cavitation, the force of exploding that the river is capable of transporting at the bankfull stage.
air. Powerful eddies in the flowing river water compress and
decompress water in cracks in the river bank. This can lead River channel processes
to the formation of air bubbles in the water, which explode
outwards, weakening the crack and leading to pieces breaking – deposition and
off. This process is especially important where the water is sedimentation
moving very quickly, in rapids and waterfalls.
When rivers slow down they have less energy and deposition
Solution – sometimes called corrosion. Natural river water is takes place. The larger particles are deposited first, while
often slightly acidic and it can dissolve rocks such as chalk fine clay particles may not be deposited until the river
and limestone. reaches the sea. Deposition can take place whenever the
river loses energy. The river’s energy depends on its velocity
River channel processes – and its discharge. The load can be dropped because the
velocity has slowed, or because the discharge has fallen, or
transportation because both have happened. Deposition takes place in the
Rivers transport the load that is supplied to them in four following circumstances:
main ways. The sediment is produced by river erosion and
During a period of low discharge when there has been a
¼¼
by other landscape processes such as weathering and mass
dry spell with no rain.
movement on the valley sides.
On the inside of a meander bend.
¼¼
Lighter material held in When a river bursts its banks due to a reduction in the
¼¼
suspension by turbulent
eddies (lightest particles
hydraulic radius (see below).
nearer to the surface) River flow
When the load is increased, e.g. after deforestation.
¼¼
Dissolved material
carried in solution
When a river enters the still water of a lake or the sea.
¼¼
Sedimentation occurs when river sediment is deposited
from still water. This process is common on floodplains and
Bedload moved by either
on the sea bed. On the sea bed it is aided by the process
River bed saltation (bouncing)
or traction (rolling) of flocculation, the way that charged ions in sea water
allow clay particles to coagulate together and settle out of
Fig. 1.22 How the river transports its load of sediment suspension. The bottomset, foreset and topset beds in a
delta (Fig. 1.36 on page 20) are produced by sedimentation.
Traction – the larger particles of the bedload are rolled along Material deposited as sediments may become sedimentary
by the force of the flowing water. (The bedload is the load rock, linking river processes with the rock cycle.
that spends all or some of its time on the river bed.)
Saltation – the smaller particles of bedload tend to hop along River channel processes –
the bed of the river. A faster eddy picks them up and they
move along in the body of the water until the current slows the Hjulström curves
and they fall back to the river bed. 10 000

Suspension – this accounts for most of the load, especially in a 5000

lowland river. Lowland rivers nearly always look muddy and Erosion
l
1000 ria
brown because of the large amounts of sand, silt and clay Ve ate
500
Velocity (cm/sec)

loc m
suspended in the water. ity up
requ
ired to pick
100
Solution – the dissolved load is derived from soluble rock
y
cit

50
lo

such as limestone and chalk. Chalk streams are often clear

ve

Transport Deposition
ng

because the dissolved load is not visible.

i

10
ttl
Se

The load of the river varies as the energy of the river (discharge 5
and velocity) changes. At times of high discharge, the river can
1
carry a large amount of sediment – even small streams look 0.01 0.05 0.1 0.5 1 5 10 50 100 1000
muddy at times of flood. The load of a river is usually calculated
Clay Silt Sand Pebbles Boulders
at the bankfull stage, at the point when the river is flowing Material size
most efficiently, just before it spills out onto its floodplain. The
14 Fig. 1.23 The Hjulström curves
This diagram is a complex graph which uses logarithmic the lowlands with a gentle gradient, but a very smooth bed, flow
scales on both the horizontal and vertical axes. This is known faster than rivers in the uplands with a steep gradient, but a
as a log/log graph. This technique allows a wide range of very rough bed. Upland rivers look as if they are flowing quickly
data to be shown on a relatively small graph. The diagram but the extreme turbulence caused by the very rough river
shows the relationship between particle size and velocity. bed means that the downstream velocity is quite low. Friction
The top curve is sometimes known as the critical erosion is measured in two ways: bed roughness and hydraulic radius.
velocity curve and shows the river velocity required to pick
up sediment particles of different sizes. The lower curve is Bed roughness
the mean settling velocity curve and shows the speed that the A rough channel produces more friction and provides more
river has to slow to, before particles of different sizes will be resistance to river flow than a smooth channel. Roughness
dropped (deposited). The main points to note are: is measured by Manning’s N. There are different ways of
The velocity needed to keep particles moving is always
¼¼ calculating Manning’s N, but the simplest formula is as follows:
lower than the velocity needed to start them moving. R0.67 × S0.5
N =
This means that if a swift eddy starts to move a particle, V
the river water will have to slow down significantly where:
before the particle is dropped. N = Manning’s N – the roughness coefficient
Sand is the easiest material to erode. Sand can be picked
¼¼ R = hydraulic radius (see below)
up at lower velocities than either smaller or larger particles. S = channel gradient (as a fraction)
Clay is cohesive (sticky) and pebbles are heavy – both need
more energy to be eroded than sand particles do. V = mean velocity of flow

Fine clays, once picked up, will stay in suspension even

¼¼ The gradient, hydraulic radius and the velocity can all be
if the water stops moving. This is another reason why measured using fieldwork instruments, but the calculation
lowland rivers always look muddy. of Manning’s N is usually carried out using a computer. The
higher the value of N, the rougher the bed. Small mountain
When a river slows down, the coarse material is dropped
¼¼ streams typically have values of around 0.05, while lowland
first, the finest last. This why levées form close to the rivers have values closer to 0.015.
river during a flood.

11. Study Fig. 1.23.

Hydraulic radius
This is a measure of the efficiency of the river. It compares
(a) How fast has the river to be moving before an the friction caused by the bed and banks with the amount
average-sized pebble (10 mm) is picked up? of discharge flowing down the river. In an efficient river, the
(b) At what velocity will a sand particle of 1 mm be water moves relatively easily, with minimum resistance to flow
dropped by the river? from friction. The formula for hydraulic radius is as follows:
(c) The velocity of water in the river channel increases channel cross-sectional area (CSA)
Hydraulic radius =
after heavy rain. As the velocity reaches 1000 cm/ wetted perimeter (WP)
sec, what is the status of: a tiny clay particle on where:
the river bed, a sand grain and a boulder on the
CSA = channel depth × channel width
river bed?
WP = length of the bed and banks in direct contact
with the water in the river channel.
River flow – factors
This is best shown in a diagram:
affecting the energy of a
river
Rivers have kinetic energy because they have mass (discharge) 2m River 2m
and velocity.
8m
Discharge is affected by precipitation and the characteristics
of the drainage basin system. Discharge generally increases
as a river flows downstream because more and more cross-sectional area (CSA) = 2 m × 8 m = 16 m2
tributaries bring their water to the main river.
wetted perimeter (WP) = 2 m + 8 m + 2 m = 12 m
Velocity is affected by a range of factors but friction and gradient 16 m2
are the most important. Although we would expect rivers with hydraulic radius = CSA/WP = = 1.34 m
12 m
a steep gradient to flow very quickly, research has shown that
friction is more important than gradient. This is why rivers in Fig. 1.24 How to calculate the hydraulic radius 15
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Hydraulic radius increases downstream. The hydraulic

13. Bradshaw’s model (Fig. 1.19 on page 13) does
radius also changes as the discharge changes at any one
not consider all the river variables. How would you
point along a river.
expect the following factors to change as you move
12. Study Fig. 1.25. Calculate the hydraulic radius for: downstream:
(a) low water (a) channel efficiency (hydraulic radius)
(b) normal flow (b) friction
(c) the bankfull stage (c) turbulence
(d) the overbank flood. (d) channel cross-sectional area?
When is the river at its most efficient? Explain your Figure 1.26 summarises the complex relationships between
answer. the various processes that operate within the river channel.
Don’t forget that the processes change with time, often
Low water
depending on changes in the river’s discharge.
Flood plain Flood plain

Bank Bank
Patterns of flow
Water flows downhill in three main ways:
Bed
laminar flow
¼¼
Normal flow
turbulent flow
¼¼
helicoidal flow.
¼¼

Laminar flow
Bankfull Water flowing downwards over a smooth surface can flow in
a simple sheet, with no eddies or meanders. This is known
as laminar flow. Laminar flow can be observed on a smooth
road surface or paved area during heavy rainfall, but it is very
rare in nature because most surfaces exert enough friction
for turbulence to disrupt the flowing sheet.
Overbank flood

Turbulent flow
Water flowing in a river channel is subject to friction, both
with the river bed and the banks. This friction slows the
1m
water closest to the bed and banks and the water nearer the
Fig. 1.25 Changing hydraulic radius centre of the river overtakes the slow water. Because water is
a liquid, this results in turbulence. Water at the sides of the
river begins to eddy towards the banks and water close to
Erosion Transportation Deposition
the bed of the river begins to eddy downwards. Both types
The river's energy affects these processes
of eddy operate at the same time and this leads to chaotic,
turbulent flow.
Energy
(kinetic energy = ½ mv2 - i.e. discharge and velocity)
Horizontal eddies

Discharge Velocity

Precipitation Turbulence Gradient

River bank
Number of Friction
tributaries
(basin size) Upstream
Channel roughness
(Manning’s N) River bed
Vertical
Channel
830702_aw01.23 A Level efficiency
Geography eddies Downstream
Barking Dog Art (hydraulic radius)
Fig. 1.27 Turbulent flow
16 Fig. 1.26 River channel processes – a summary diagram
Helicoidal flow Meandering river channels
Water flowing down a plughole often starts to spiral as it Most rivers meander to some extent. Upland streams
flows downwards. This spiralling motion is typical of fluids meander but the most pronounced meanders are found on
moving at or close to the surface of a rotating planet. It is no floodplains where lateral erosion is facilitated by the soft
surprise that water flowing down a river channel is subject nature of the river banks. Meanders are so common because
to the same forces. The line of fastest flow (thalweg) spiralling is the normal behaviour of moving fluids on the
follows a corkscrew or spiralling path as the river moves surface of a rotating planet. Rivers are confined to their
downstream. This is closely related to the development channels so the tendency to spiral downwards produces
of meanders but even in a straight, artificial channel, helicoidal flow. This is the main reason why rivers meander
helicoidal flow can be observed. (see Fig. 1.29). Meanders are not produced by large obstacles
The spiralling movement of the thalweg is constrained by in the river’s course.
the river channel. Not only does the thalweg spiral from the
surface to the river bed and back to the surface, but it also
moves from one bank to another in a downstream direction.
The vertical movement of the thalweg produces pools and
riffles while the bank-to-bank motion concentrates erosion
first on one bank and then on the other. This contributes
greatly to the formation of regularly spaced meanders
along the river’s course (see Fig. 1.38 on page 21).

Channel types
There are three main types of river channel:
Fig. 1.29 A meandering river channel. This map extract
straight channels
¼¼ shows the River Severn near Ironbridge in Shropshire, UK
meandering channels
¼¼
braided channels.
¼¼
Braided river channels
These are river channels that contain a large number of
The sinuosity of a river channel is a measure of how ‘bendy’ it islands and bars made of sediment. They are found in areas
is. It is calculated by dividing the length of the river channel by where discharge varies a lot during the year and where a
the length of the valley in which it flows. This can be done for large amount of fairly coarse sediment is being carried
a whole river but more usually it is done for sections of a river. by the river, for example glacial outwash streams and
A perfectly straight river will have a sinuosity of 1.0 but natural seasonal rivers in semi-arid areas. The braiding results from
river channels are rarely perfectly straight. Any river with a the deposition of sediment on the riverbed during a time
sinuosity less than 1.5 is considered ‘straight’, while a river with of falling discharge. The river then splits as it flows around
a sinuosity of over 1.5 is considered to be ‘meandering’. these deposits. A braided river channel can be extremely
wide and constantly changing.
Straight river channels
These are quite rare because helicoidal flow dominates in
most rivers and makes them meander. Even on a straight
river, the thalweg (line of maximum flow velocity) moves
from side to side because of helicoidal flow.

Fig. 1.30 A braided river channel. This is a river on the

Skeidararsandur glacial outwash plain in southern Iceland

River landforms
Flowing water has energy which allows rivers to do work
Fig. 1.28 A straight river channel. This is the river in Glen through the processes of erosion, transportation and
Tilt, Scotland, UK. The reason it is so straight is that it is
deposition. These processes produce a whole range of
guided by a straight fault (weakness) in the rocks
distinctive landforms such as waterfalls, floodplains and 17
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

deltas. Together, these river landforms make up what we Waterfalls and gorges
recognise as a river landscape. Waterfalls form where a horizontal layer of hard rock lies
on top of a layer of softer rock in a river valley. The soft rock
Landforms of the upper course underneath is eroded more quickly by the river and gradually
a plunge pool develops. The splashing water and eddy
Potholes currents in the plunge pool undercut the hard rock layer
above. This eventually creates an unsupported overhang of
hard rock. The overhang then collapses into the plunge pool.
If the processes of undercutting and collapse are repeated
over a long period of time, the waterfall will retreat upstream
– forming a deep, steep-sided valley called a gorge.
Horizontal bed of hard rock – the Whin Sill Dolerite.
It is very difficult for the River Tees to erode this rock.

Fig. 1.31 Potholes on a rocky river bed in South Africa Plunge pool

Potholes are formed by turbulence which swirls pebbles Softer rock at the base of the falls.
around in a depression on the river bed. The swirling This rock is much more easily eroded.
pebbles enlarge the pothole by the process of abrasion. The Fig. 1.33 The High Force waterfall on the River Tees is one
process is explained in more detail in Fig. 1.20 on page 13. of the largest waterfalls in England
They are usually quite small features and they are evidence
that vertical erosion predominates in upland rivers. 14. (a) Make a copy of diagram A in Fig. 1.34. Add
labels to the diagram to identify the main
Rapids features. Write a short paragraph to explain what
the diagram shows. Try to use subject specific
vocabulary e.g. the names of the different types
of erosion that are operating.
(b) Repeat the exercise for the other three diagrams:
B, C and D.

A B

C D

Fig. 1.32 Rapids on the Orange River in South Africa

Rapids are common in the upper course of a river. They 830702_aw01.39 A Level Geography
form at places where the gradient is steep and the river bed Barking Dog Art
is rocky, resistant to erosion, and irregular. They are usually Fig. 1.34 Four diagrams showing the development of a
caused by a band, or bands, of hard rock in the river bed. waterfall and a gorge over time
18
Gorges form best when the hard rock is especially resistant three main forms of deposition which contribute to the
to weathering but succumbs to river erosion. As well as formation of the floodplain:
being formed by the retreat of a waterfall, gorges can The deposition of fine silt and mud (part of the
¼¼
form in other circumstances: suspended load) on the floodplain itself, during times of
In semi-arid areas, where there is a short wet season
¼¼ flood. As the floodwater spreads across the floodplain,
leading to vertical erosion of the river bed when the the hydraulic radius decreases, friction becomes more
river is flowing, but no water for weathering at other important, the river slows, and deposition takes place.
times of the year. Most deposition takes place closest to the river. This
Where a mountain range has been formed across
¼¼ means that areas further from the river receive thinner
the path of a river, but the vertical erosion of the layers of sediment and don’t grow upwards quite so
river has been able to keep up with the growth of the fast. This leads to lower areas, further from the river
mountain range. The gorge of the Brahmaputra River channel, known as backswamps.
where it flows from Tibet, through the Himalayas, is The deposition of point bars in the slow water on the
¼¼
an excellent example. This is known as antecedent inside of meanders. These deposits spread across the
drainage. floodplain as the meanders migrate.
The deposition of sediment on the river bed at times of
¼¼
Landforms of the lower course low water when the velocity of the river slows. This is
why big rivers often raise themselves above the level of
Floodplains, levées and bluffs
the floodplain.
A floodplain is the flat land next to the river which is
liable to flood when the river rises after heavy rainfall. Like the floodplain, levées are depositional features.
Floodplains are often badly drained, with marshes and When rivers reach bankfull stage and then burst their
ox-bow lakes. In their natural state they are unhealthy banks, the current slows and deposition takes place.
areas to live on because diseases are common. Sometimes The biggest particles are deposited first and when the
the river actually flows above the level of the surrounding river level falls after a flood, these coarse deposits form
floodplain, but it is enclosed by natural embankments embankments at each side of the river. They are natural
called levées. features but people often raise them and strengthen them
to prevent flooding. Sometimes completely artificial
Lateral erosion predominates on a floodplain. The river is
embankments are built for the same purpose, and in the
close to sea level (base level) so it can’t cut down much
USA these embankments are also called levées.
further. However, the floodplain is made of soft alluvium
so lateral erosion is facilitated and the meander belt
migrates constantly across the floodplain. Where a
Landforms produced by
meander reaches the edge of the floodplain, it may erode sedimentation
back the low valley side, helping to maintain the low
bluffs found at the side of most large floodplains.
Deltas
These are depositional features which form when
The floodplain is made of alluvium (river silt) because it is the river meets the sea or runs into a lake. When a
formed by deposition of material from the river. There are river meets the still water of the sea or lake, the loss of
velocity leads to a loss of energy and the river’s load of
sediment is deposited. Sea water contains charged ions
Line of bluffs
Levées Ox-bow lake of the salts dissolved in it and these charged ions lead to
Bluffs
the flocculation of clay particles – tiny particles cluster
together, becoming bigger and so are more able to settle
to the bottom. Deposition of sediment blocks the river’s
main channel which splits into smaller channels called
Floodplain Floodplain distributaries. Continued deposition over time means
that the delta grows outwards into the sea, forming a flat,
marshy extension of the land. There are often lakes and
Alluvium lagoons within the delta. Because deltas are formed
Bedrock
of fertile alluvium they are attractive areas for human
Valley produced Plain produced settlement. They are dangerous places to live, however,
by erosion by deposition because they are susceptible to flooding, both by the river
and by the sea. An example of a densely populated delta
Fig. 1.35 Block diagram showing the main features of a
floodplain is the Ganges delta in India and Bangladesh.
19
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

In lakes, this three-layer pattern is clear,

(2) The foreset beds are composed of the coarser
but at the coast, erosion by waves and
material that is rolled along the river bed by traction.
movement by tides makes the picture
The material is tipped seaward as the delta advances.
more complex.
Distributaries Delta

(3) The topset beds are

deposited through the
flooding of the Water level (1) The bottomset beds
distributaries and form stretch furthest out to sea
a layer of rich alluvial and are laid down first as
soil over the delta. material carried in suspension
Bedrock sinks to the sea floor.

Fig. 1.36 The formation of a delta. The structure produced by the deposition of bottomset, foreset and topset beds

There are many types of delta but there are three classic types.

Map of delta Description

The Niger delta
Arcuate deltas are fan-shaped and they
Niger
form when the tidal range is quite low and
there is a strong movement of sediment
in one direction along the coast, e.g. by
longshore drift or an offshore current.
This keeps the seaward edge of the delta
smooth in shape. A good example is the
Niger delta in West Africa.

N
0 200
km

The Ebro delta

Cuspate deltas are shaped like an
Ebro
arrowhead or a worn tooth. There is a
low tidal range and two offshore currents
shape this sort of delta, operating in
opposite directions at different times of
the year. A good example is the Ebro delta
to the south of Barcelona in Spain.

N
0 8
km

The Mississippi delta

Bird’s foot deltas are formed where the
Mississippi
tidal range is low and where the river
currents are strong. There is no clear
offshore current to shape the delta so
each distributary builds the land out
into the sea, acting like a series of thin
conveyor belts. The best example is the
Mississippi delta in the Gulf of Mexico.
N
0 100
km

Fig. 1.37 Types of delta

20
Meanders and ox-bow lakes – Wavelength
river landforms produced both P
(10 × W)
P
by erosion and deposition
R R R R
Meanders are the most typical of all river landforms.
They can be found at any point along a river’s course and
their associated landforms are relatively easily explained. P P P
However, the reasons why meanders form in the first place
are complex and difficult to understand. (5 × W) (5 × W)
It used to be thought that meanders were caused by an Key
obstacle along the course of the river, causing it to deflect P = Pool
R = Riffle
from a straight course. Once initiated, the different rates
W = River width
of erosion and deposition in the inside and outside of
meander bends ensured that meanders remained and
Fig. 1.39 Pools and riffles on a meandering river channel
developed. However this idea was thrown into doubt in
the mid-20th century when it was noticed that there were Meanders have an asymmetric cross section and the flow of
certain regularities and relationships that applied to water in three dimensions is complex.
meanders wherever they were found. The most obvious
The form of a meander is the same wherever it is found.
was that whatever the size of the river, the wavelength of its
Deep water and a river cliff are found on the outside of the
meanders was roughly 8–10 times the width of the river.
bend while shallow water and depositional features (slip-
This sort of regular mathematical relationship implied that
off slope or point bar) are found on the inside of the bend.
meandering was a fundamental part of a river’s nature and
This is related to the nature of the river flow, especially the
that a universal principle was involved in their formation.
different amounts of energy that the river has on the outside
This led geomorphologists to look at the way in which water
and inside of the bend.
flowed in rivers and to look for other regular relationships in
the form of river channels.
River cliff – caused by the
Pools and riffles fast, descending water
Straight rivers develop deeper sections where erosion Inside
eroding the outside of
Outside the bend
predominates (pools) and shallower sections where of bend
of bend
sediment has been deposited (riffles). The process that
830702_aw01.32 A Level Geography
causes this is complex and not fully understood but the Barking Dog Art
Outside
regular spacing of pools and riffles (the distance from pool of bend
to pool is 4–5 times the width of the river) suggests it is Inside
of bend
related to helicoidal flow. Close study of the thalweg showed
that the thalweg did indeed move in a corkscrew fashion Inside
of bend
(helicoidal) and that the rising and falling of the zone of
maximum velocity within the river channel corresponded Outside
Key of bend
to the position of pools and riffles.
Lateral erosion
Point bar – created by
Deposition deposition in the slowest,
Thalweg line
Riffle Thalweg rising water on the inside
Pool of the bend

Fig. 1.40 A map of a typical meander

Fig. 1.38 Pools and riffles on a relatively straight river channel

Ox-bow lakes
Meanders become more sinuous (bendy) over time as
Meanders erosion and deposition continue to change their shape. In
Meanders are related to pools and riffles because the the soft alluvium of a floodplain, lateral erosion can be so
meander wavelength is usually 8–10 times the river width, effective that the neck of the meander becomes narrower
with a pool on the outside of each bend. In other words and narrower. Eventually (usually during the high energy
the distance pool to pool to pool equates to a meander conditions of a flood) the neck is breached and the meander
wavelength. cuts itself off. An ox-bow lake is the result.
21
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Map Description
Stage 1

Inside A meander on a floodplain. Because the alluvium of the floodplain

Outside is soft and because the river is close to sea level (base level),
of bend
of bend
lateral erosion predominates. Erosion is focused on the outside of
the meander bend and deposition on the inside of the bend.
Outside
of bend
Inside
of bend

Inside
of bend
Outside
of bend

Stage 2
The meander becomes more sinuous. Continued erosion on the
outside of the bend undercuts the river cliff, which retreats.
Deposition of material on the point bar on the inside of the bend
continues. Together, these processes move the whole meander
sideways. The neck of the meander becomes narrower as the two
river cliffs move closer together.

Neck of land
between loops
gets narrower
New shape
of meander

Stage 3
Deposition Oxbow or An ox-bow lake is formed. During a large flood, when the water is
‘cut-off’ lake moving rapidly, erosion of the two river cliffs finally removes the
neck of land between them. The river adopts a more direct line
of flow because this increases the gradient of the river bed and
makes the river flow more efficient. Deposition in the still water of
River cuts through the old meander cuts the meander off from the new course of the
Narrow neck of land river. The ox-bow lake is a temporary feature because the growth of
During flood vegetation eventually fills it up and turns it into an area of marshy
ground – very much like the rest of the natural floodplain.
Fastest current is
now in the middle of
the river. Material is
deposited in slower water
near to river banks
830702_aw01.34a – including
a level geography
across
Barking dog the
art former meander

Key
Land lost to the river (eroded) Fastest current
Land gained from the river (deposited) Earlier course of the river

Fig. 1.41 The stages in the formation of an ox-bow lake

RESEARCH Use old maps to see how much the

meanders on a river near you have changed over time.

22
The human impact is energy, so a warmer atmosphere moves faster. Weather
systems that produce rainfall, e.g. temperate depressions and
tropical cyclones, could become more frequent as a result.
How human activity
can modify the natural Water storage
Dams have been built on rivers throughout the world. A large
hydrological cycle dam is defined as a dam over 15 metres high. Worldwide
By changing the operation of the natural system (inputs, there are over 48 000 of these large dams. Dams store water
stores, flows and outputs) in a drainage basin, human activity and have a major impact on river discharge. They are built
can have a significant impact on the way that the drainage to:
basin operates. provide water for irrigation, for homes and for factories
¼¼
By affecting the nature and amount of precipitation, produce hydro-electric power (HEP)
¼¼
evapotranspiration and river discharge, people can increase
control flooding.
¼¼
or decrease the impacts of river floods.
Direct human modification of the drainage basin system 15. (a) What is meant by ‘irrigation’ and why do many
usually involves: farmers use this technique?
changing the amount of precipitation entering the river’s
¼¼ (b) Make a list of all the ways that water can be
drainage basin used in the home.
storing water within the drainage basin by building dams
¼¼ (c) How is water used in factories?
or by groundwater recharge
Large dams can even out the flow of water in a river, ensuring
changing the channel characteristics of the river so that
¼¼
that river levels remain high enough for water abstraction
the speed of flow is affected
but stopping river levels rising above the bankfull stage,
transferring water between drainage basins
¼¼ thereby reducing flooding. Significant amounts of water
abstracting water from the river for industrial, domestic
¼¼ evaporate from large reservoirs. The Aswan dam in Egypt
and agricultural use. has reduced the annual flooding on the River Nile in Egypt
but up to 30 per cent of the Nile’s water is lost by evaporation
Indirect human modification of the drainage basin system
from Lake Nasser, the reservoir created by the building of
usually involves changing the nature of the drainage basin
the dam. Because water abstraction from the River Nile
itself through:
downstream of the dam has increased, hardly any Nile water
deforestation or afforestation
¼¼ now reaches the Mediterranean Sea.
changing the agricultural land use
¼¼
urbanisation – building towns and cities.
¼¼ RESEARCH Make a list of the advantages and
disadvantages of the building of the Aswan Dam for the
people and economy of Egypt.
Precipitation
Cloud seeding involves adding artificial particles to clouds so
that large water droplets form around these condensation Artificial groundwater recharge is used to store water in
nuclei and raindrops then fall. Silver iodide and dry ice underground aquifers. At times of high discharge, water
are commonly used and this cloud seeding has led to local is pumped from rivers into the ground via boreholes. This
increases in rainfall in Australia and the USA of between maintains or increases the height of the water table and
10–30 per cent. There is only a limited amount of water in boosts the discharge in streams fed by springs flowing from
the atmosphere, so increasing rainfall in one place can lead the aquifer. This stops the streams drying up during a dry
to less rainfall elsewhere. spell. Water can also be extracted for human use, using the
Cities produce air pollution, which includes particles of same boreholes used for the recharge. Artificial groundwater
soot from vehicle exhausts, domestic fires and industrial recharge is a strategy used in southern England, for example,
chimneys. These extra condensation nuclei, together with where water is often in short supply during the summer
the heat island effect (which produces warm, rising air and months.
atmospheric turbulence), can produce up to 10 per cent
more rainfall in cities than in nearby rural areas. Changing the nature of the river
Human-induced climate change (global warming) also has channel
an effect. Warmer seas produce more evaporation. More Large rivers are often straightened and deepened in order
water vapour in the atmosphere leads to more rainfall. Heat to make them easier to navigate by barges. This is called
23
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

canalisation and it tends to increase the hydraulic radius of borehole is drilled down to groundwater held in an aquifer.
the river channel. These straight, deep channels move water Water is pumped from the aquifer and sprayed onto crops
more efficiently and this can lead to shorter lag times and via a long, wheeled boom that slowly rotates around the
increased flood peaks. The River Rhine has been extensively central borehole. This produces circular areas of cultivation
canalised and the flood surge, which used to take five days to in what might otherwise be a dry, brown landscape.
move from Switzerland to the Netherlands, now takes only Near Lubbock, Texas, this technique has lowered the water
three days. table by about a metre a year since its introduction in the
In urban areas, rivers are often confined to concrete channels 1960s. This suggests that the use of groundwater in this
or underground drains. This can lead to increased levels of way is unsustainable because water is being used up faster
flooding in nearby buildings. than it is being replaced. In Libya, there are many aquifers
that filled with water when the Sahara desert was a rainy
Transferring water between place. The Sahara became a desert around 7000 years ago
drainage basins and very little rain now falls there. Centre-pivot irrigation in
Libya is also an unsustainable use of groundwater because
In north-east England there are three large industrial cities:
here the groundwater is, in effect, a non-renewable resource.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
The same is true of centre-pivot irrigation schemes in other
They each have a high demand for water. A huge reservoir
dry parts of the world.
has been built on the headwaters of the River Tyne
at Kielder and this supplies water, via the River Tyne, to
Newcastle. Kielder can hold far more water than is needed
by Newcastle, so a series of pipelines have been built to
transfer water from the River Tyne into the River Wear (for
Sunderland) and into the River Tees (for Middlesbrough).
One large reservoir in a very sparsely-populated area is
therefore supplying water to three large urban/industrial
areas, allowing all three cities to develop their economy.
The natural discharge of all three rivers has been changed
as a result.

Abstracting water from the river

River water is in demand for three main uses:
Agriculture: in many parts of the world, rainfall is low
¼¼
and farmers need to irrigate their fields so that crops can
grow.
Industrial use: industry can use huge amounts of water
¼¼
for manufacturing (e.g. papermaking) or for cooling (e.g.
power stations).
Domestic use: in HICs people use large amounts of
¼¼
water each day for drinking, washing, flushing toilets, Fig. 1.42 Centre pivot irrigation circles in the Jordanian
watering gardens and even washing cars. In LICs people desert
use much less water, mostly for drinking. Although water use per person is much greater in HICs
than in LICs, water shortages can occur anywhere. Water
16. Suggest why people in LICs use less water than people is a renewable resource but when water use exceeds supply,
in HICs.
long-term water shortages can result. This can have an
It is important that the use of water is sustainable – water impact on local people and on the potential for economic
use should not exceed water supply. If too much water is development. This leads to competition for the use of the
used, river levels fall and wetland areas dry out. This can available water resources and water has to be carefully
have an impact on wildlife because habitats are reduced or managed. This can be an issue within one country or
destroyed. between countries.

Centre-pivot irrigation
Centre-pivot irrigation is a modern technology that has
the potential to use water in a very unsustainable way. A
24
17. (a) What is meant by a ‘stakeholder’?
Case study: Water (b) Did the federal authorities make the right
management issues decision about the use of water from Pyramid
within one country: Lake? Justify your answer.

south-west USA 18. Water wars are predicted in several parts of the world
In Nevada, USA, there is a large lake called Pyramid during the 21st century. Why might a country feel that
Lake. It is an important source of water in this semi- it has to go to war to protect its water supplies?
arid area. There is intense competition for the water
from Pyramid Lake:
Deforestation and afforestation
⦁ The farmers around Fallon, Nevada, need water to
Forests growing in a river basin tend to reduce the discharge of
irrigate their crops of alfalfa.
the river. Increased interception and increased transpiration
⦁ The residents of Reno, a tourist city similar to mean that evapotranspiration can become a more important
Las Vegas, need water for domestic use. The city output from the drainage basin than river discharge. Forests
is growing and demand for water is increasing also encourage infiltration and throughflow rather than
rapidly. overland flow, reducing the speed at which rainfall reaches
⦁ Pyramid Lake is a nature reserve, much valued by the river. Flood peaks are lower in a basin that is forested.
the local Native Americans who believe they are If the forest is removed, much more water goes into the river,
spiritually connected to a rare fish species that increasing the discharge and the flood risk.
lives in the lake. Water is needed to allow the fish Population growth in Nepal, in the Himalayas, has led to
spawning runs each year. Without the spawning pressure to cut the trees down to provide fuelwood and
runs the fish will become extinct. terraced fields on the steep hillsides. Over-grazing of the
Competition between the different stakeholders was deforested land has led to soil erosion. The local rivers are
so intense that legal action was taken. The federal tributaries of the Ganges which has received more discharge
authorities ruled that the Native Americans and the and more sediment as a result. The sediment clogs up the
residents of Reno should have priority and the Fallon river channels and leaves less room for the water. Increased
farmers lost their water supply, resulting in their levels of river flooding in Bangladesh, where the Ganges
fields drying out. reaches the sea, have been blamed on deforestation in Nepal.
Devastating floods on the River Chang Jiang (Yangtze) in
China in 1998 (see page 29) prompted the authorities to
institute an afforestation programme in the upper reaches of
Case study: the river. The province of Yunnan used to be heavily forested
but many of the forests were removed in the 1960s because of
International water the need for land to produce food for the growing population.
management issues: As on the Ganges, this led to increased flooding on the Chang
Jiang. The afforestation programme has met resistance from
the River Euphrates some local people in Yunnan but it is going ahead. It will be
The River Euphrates rises in Turkey, flows through several years before the growing trees have a significant effect
Syria and Iraq and empties into the Gulf. Between on reducing river discharge and flood peaks.
1983 and 1990, Turkey built the Ataturk Dam on the
river in order to generate electricity and irrigate crops Changing agricultural land use
in Turkey. Despite previous agreements on the use Land uses that create impermeable surfaces or reduce
of water, Turkey stopped the flow of the river for a vegetation cover tend to increase overland flow and river
month in 1990 to allow the reservoir behind the dam discharge. Pasture land allows rainfall to soak into the ground
to fill. Syria and Iraq both protested because their but has less evapotranspiration than the forest it may have
water supplies had been disrupted. Turkey allowed replaced. Floodplains tend to be fertile and are often used
the flow of water to resume but water use in Turkey for arable farming. Ploughing increases infiltration because
means that the flow of the Euphrates below the dam it loosens the surface soil but in HICs, arable farming can
is one-third less than it used to be. The reduction in also reduce infiltration because the use of heavy machinery
water supply has had a bad effect on Syria and Iraq, for cultivation and harvesting squashes the soil, so there is
reducing their potential for economic development. more overland flow and flood peaks increase. This was a
significant factor in the flooding on the River Rhine in 1995.
25
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Urbanisation Probability of occurence (in any given year)

Covering large areas in concrete, tile and tarmac leads to an 90% 50% 20% 10% 5% 2% 1%
3000
increase in overland flow, therefore floods are more likely,

Annual maximum discharge (m3/s)

especially in places downstream of the urban area. The 2500
concrete drains and sewers of urban areas allow water to
reach the river quickly, replacing natural throughflow with 2000
a much more rapid process. This reduces lag times and
increases flood peaks. Building on a floodplain means that 1500

there is less room for the water when the river floods. The
1000
floodwaters will rise higher as a result.
500
River flooding –
0
recurrence intervals and 1.01 1.1 2 2.33 5 10 20
Recurrence interval (years)
50 100

the prediction of flood A large flood of 1 800 m3/s has a probability

risk of 10 per centand a recurrence interval of about
10 years, meaning that there is a 10 per cent
River flooding occurs when a river’s discharge exceeds the probability that a flood of this dischargewill occur
capacity of the river channel. The river overflows its banks. River in a given year.

flooding is a significant hazard that affects many parts of the

world. It is important that people are aware of the risk of flooding Fig. 1.43 Magnitude and frequency analysis of flood risk
in the place where they live and work. It is also important to be
Current advice in the UK is that densely-populated urban
able to give them accurate and reliable flood warnings.
areas should be protected against floods up to the height of
the 100-year flood. The ‘magnitude and frequency analysis’
Flood risk analysis graphs can show the Environment Agency how high to build
In the UK the Environment Agency is responsible for the walls and embankments in order to do this. This means
flood risk analysis and for issuing flood warnings. Flood that there will occasionally be floods that will come over
risk analysis is important because it tells homeowners the top of the defences. The Dutch have recently rebuilt the
and tenants what flood risk their property faces. Owners flood defences on the River Rhine to cope with the 1000-
of high-risk properties need to be especially alert for year flood, but this has cost a lot of money. Politicians in the
flood warnings. UK have decided to pay for the damage caused by very rare
The Environment Agency works out the flood risk at a floods rather than pay for very expensive flood defences to
place by using ‘magnitude and frequency analysis’. A protect people from them. It’s a question of what is cheapest
scatter graph is produced using historical flood data from over the long term. However, climate change could be
that place. The magnitude (size) of the flood is plotted making big floods more frequent. What is currently the
against the recurrence interval of the flood, i.e. how 100-year flood might soon become the 20-year flood. This
often, on average, that size of flood is likely to occur. This adds another level of uncertainty to flood risk analysis and
is done on special semi-log graph paper and a straight planning.
best-fit line can be drawn. Using the best-fit line the size
of the 5-year flood, 50-year flood, 100-year flood, 500- Flood risk maps
year flood, etc., can be calculated. An example is shown On the Environment Agency’s website it is possible to obtain
Fig. 1.43. The vertical scale is arithmetic but the horizontal flood risk maps for most places in the UK.
scale is logarithmic, making this a semi-log graph.
This flood risk map is very reassuring for most of the people
As can be seen from Fig. 1.43, the magnitude and frequency who live in the area shown. Very few buildings are at risk.
analysis deals in probabilities. The ‘10-year flood’ is the size Some low-value agricultural land could be flooded but if the
of flood that can be expected every 10 years on average farmer gets sufficient
830702_aw01.35 A Level warning,
Geographyany grazing animals can be
and there is a 10 per cent chance of a flood of this size movedDog
Barking to higher
Art ground and safety.
happening in any one year. This means that once the 10-
year flood has happened, there is no guarantee that it Flood predictions and warnings
will be 10 years before it happens again. However, the In the UK, the Environment Agency monitors rainfall and
use of recurrence intervals is useful when planning flood river levels and is able to produce flood warnings as a result.
defences and when drawing flood risk maps.

26
the flood hazard. Management involves a combination of
prediction, prevention and amelioration. For management
to be successful we have to fully understand the causes of
flooding.

The causes of river flooding

River floods are caused when rates of overland flow exceed
the river’s capacity to hold the water it is supplied with. The
natural factors affecting overland flow have been dealt with
earlier in this chapter but can be summarised as:
heavy, persistent and/or intense rainfall
¼¼
rapid snowmelt
¼¼
impermeable soil and bedrock
¼¼
a lack of vegetation in the drainage basin
¼¼
A Key:
= significant flood risk (1–75 year flood) cold temperatures which reduce evapotranspiration.
¼¼
= moderate flood risk (76–200 year flood)
In addition, human activities can make flooding worse.
Fig. 1.44 Flood risk at Moreton Hall, Shropshire, UK These activities include:
deforestation
¼¼
urbanisation
¼¼
The details are as follows: mechanised farming
¼¼
Rainfall radar can plot the approach of depressions and
¼¼ acid rain (which destroys forests)
¼¼
other rain-bearing weather systems. These data are fed
global climate change.
¼¼
into the Agency’s computer system.
Tipping rain gauges throughout the drainage basin
¼¼ The impacts of river flooding
monitor the actual amount of rain falling and feed this
As with all natural hazards, the impacts of river flooding are:
information into the system.
death – of people and animals
¼¼
Along the river, automatic river discharge gauges
¼¼
monitor the rising river levels and this is added to the damage – to buildings, infrastructure and farmland
¼¼
system data. disruption – to people’s lives. Disruption can be social
¼¼
The system’s database includes a model of the way the
¼¼ (e.g. people are made homeless), or it can be economic
drainage basin behaves at different times of the year and (e.g. damage to businesses or factories which means that
with different inputs of rainfall. This is based on past people are unable to continue making a living).
flood events, i.e. a whole series of past storm hydrographs. The impacts of river floods vary from country to country. As
As a result the computer system can continuously
¼¼ a general rule, in HICs the economic cost of the flooding is
compare the incoming data with past events and produce higher than in LICs but the death toll is usually higher in LICs
predictions of river levels at different points along the than in HICs.
river. It can predict how high the flood peak will be and
19. Suggest why the cost of flooding is greater in HICs but
when it will reach different places.
the death toll is higher in LICs.
On the basis of these predictions the Environment
¼¼
Agency issues detailed flood warnings. People are then The management of river
given time to prepare for the flooding.
flooding
830702_aw01.35 A Level Geography
River flooding – the causes,
Barking Dog Art
How well the flood hazard is dealt with depends on:
The level of economic development of the place. This
¼¼
impacts and management influences factors such as emergency service provision,
of river flooding infrastructure and the ability to recover from the flood.
River flooding causes death, damage and disruption (both The willingness of the local people and their governments
¼¼
economic and social). Because of this, people try to manage to spend money on flood preparation and alleviation.

27
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

The accuracy and length of any warnings that are given.

¼¼ Retention basins can be built. These are areas surrounded
¼¼
Flood management strategies can be grouped into three by an embankment into which floodwaters are diverted
main categories: at times of crisis. The land-use within the retention basin
is severely restricted as a result. These have been built
Forecasts and warnings which allow the adoption of behavioural
¼¼ beside the River Rhine near Strasbourg in an attempt to
strategies – people adjusting their lifestyles and taking reduce flood levels downstream.
personal responsibility for the hazard risk.
Flood relief channels. Artificial channels can be built
¼¼
Hard engineering solutions – these usually involve building
¼¼ around a town to take away excess water and prevent
something. the town flooding. Once again, it causes worse flooding
Soft engineering strategies – working with nature rather
¼¼ downstream.
than trying to dominate it.

Forecasts and warnings which allow

the adoption of behavioural strategies
Make sure people understand the flood forecasting and
¼¼
warning service. This gives them time to move animals,
move furniture and carpets, and evacuate people.
Have an emergency plan, so that people know what to
¼¼
do once the warnings are given and once the flooding
takes place. Each household needs to have its own plan
and the whole town needs an overall plan.
Organise at-risk houses so that they have tiled floors,
¼¼
moveable mats, drains in the floor, cupboards above
flood level, plug sockets above flood level, wide stairs and
space for storage upstairs.
Take out insurance. A householder pays a set amount per
¼¼
year to the insurance company. If there is no flood, the
insurance company keeps the money. If there is a flood,
the insurance company pays the householder to repair
the damage. The amount that has to be paid by the
householder will depend on the level of the flood risk.

Hard engineering strategies

Dams and reservoirs can be built upstream. As long as
¼¼
they are not already full, the reservoirs can store some of
the floodwaters.
Platforms can be built on the floodplain before any buildings
¼¼
are constructed. This raises the buildings above flood level
Fig. 1.45 A hard engineering solution to flood risk. This is
(but still reduces the room for water on the floodplain). an artificial river channel in Nerja, southern Spain. The photo
Build embankments along the river. They are effective
¼¼ was taken during the summer dry season. The small inner
but they are expensive and don’t always look very nice. channel is designed to cope with the normal winter flow of
the river. The larger outer channel is designed to cope with
Temporary flood barriers are an alternative solution but extreme rainfall events which could cause flash floods, for
the preparatory work is permanent. which very little warning can be provided. The vegetation
Dredge the river. This lowers the bed and makes more
¼¼ growing in the flood channel could be a problem as it takes
up space and makes less room for the floodwaters
room for water in the river channel. It is very expensive
and cannot be a permanent solution as the river deposits
fresh silt over time.
Soft engineering strategies
Floodplain zoning. Only use the floodplain land for
¼¼
Straighten the river. This allows the water to flow faster
¼¼ things that will not be affected too much by floods, e.g.
and so prevents the build-up of flood waters. It does sports pitches. Don’t build houses in high-risk floodplain
cause bigger floods further downstream, however. areas.

28
Rely on ‘washlands’. The land upstream is allowed to
¼¼ River restoration schemes. This returns the river and
¼¼
flood. This acts as a safety valve and protects the town. its floodplain to its natural state providing sustainable
On the River Chang Jiang, Dongting and Poyang lakes environmental gain – but there is often an economic cost.
serve this purpose. In the Netherlands, some river floodplains have been
Plant trees in the upper part of the drainage basin.
¼¼ returned to their original state and nature reserves have
Trees encourage interception, evapotranspiration and replaced farmland. Flood protection has been enhanced.
infiltration. Forested areas have fewer floods. The Netherlands is a rich country that can afford to do
this and the farmers have been compensated.
Wetland and riverbank conservation schemes. This
¼¼
involves protecting the natural floodplain areas which
still remain. It gives the floodwaters a place to go and
protects disappearing wildlife habitats, enhancing
species diversity.

Case study: River flooding on the

River Chang Jiang, China
China is one of the largest countries in the world, both floods annually but in 1931, 1934, 1954 and 1998
in terms of population size, land area and economic the floods were particularly catastrophic. 300 000
power. Its economic growth since 1980 has been people died from its floods during the 20th century. The
phenomenal but the country is threatened by a variety worrying trend is that the floods seem to be getting
of natural hazards which include earthquakes, typhoons worse and the 1998 flood set new records.
and flooding.
China has many large rivers with the Chang Jiang Physical causes of flooding on
(Yangtze) being the third longest in the world at the Chang Jiang
6380 km. Every year the summer monsoon rains, Flooding on the Chang Jiang is an annual event,
combined with snowmelt from the Himalayas, cause the caused by snowmelt in the Himalayas and the summer
river to rise to very high levels. Despite embankments, monsoon rains. In 1998 the rains lasted a month
flooding is common. longer than usual and the ‘El Niño’ effect was blamed
for this.

Beijing RESEARCH Find out what the El Niño effect is and

KOREA how it can lead to increased rainfall in China and other
areas on the west side of the Pacific Ocean.
CHINA

Human causes of flooding on

the Chang Jiang
As on most rivers, human activities have made the
Chang Wuhan Shanghai
impact of the floods worse:
Jiang Three
Gorges ⦁ China’s urban population has been growing rapidly.
dam East China Many of the cities are sited beside the river. More
Sea
people and more property are at risk than in the
past.
⦁ To counteract the pressure for rural-to-urban
N migration, factories have been built in the village
Fig. 1.46 The location of the Chang Jiang River in China communes to provide jobs for the country folk. Many
0 600
South China Sea of these factories are on the floodplain and are not
Flooding on the Chang Jiang has caused manykm
as well protected from floods as those in the cities.
problems. Its valley is home to 400 million people. It
These factories and the workers’ houses are at risk.

29
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

⦁ More buildings on the floodplain mean less room for The monsoon rains were not more intense than normal
the floodwater so the flood levels rise higher. but lasted for a month longer. At one time the river
⦁ Deforestation in the headwaters of the river in the was 45 metres high. What were the impacts of these
1960s means that there is less interception, less devastating floods?
evapotranspiration and less infiltration. This leads to ⦁ 240 million people in seven of China’s provinces
more surface run-off and bigger flood peaks. were affected by the floods in some way.
⦁ Mismanagement of the deforested land, e.g. ⦁ 4000 people were drowned.
overgrazing, has led to soil erosion and more silt ⦁ Thousands of farm animals died.
being washed into the river channel. There is,
therefore, less room for the water. ⦁ Huge areas of crops were destroyed. These included
food crops such as rice and industrial crops such as
⦁ Canalisation of the river to improve river transport cotton.
has straightened the river, speeding up the flow,
reducing the lag time and increasing the flood peak. ⦁ To protect Wuhan, the largest city in the area,
many of the river’s flood protection embankments
⦁ Flood protection embankments have constrained the had to be deliberately breached. Large areas
river. This means that the river can hold more water of the countryside were flooded as a result,
but when the banks break the flooding is rapid and destroying houses and factories in the village
more deadly – people have less time to escape. communes.
⦁ In the old days, Dongting and Poyang Lakes near ⦁ 14 million people were homeless for months until
Wuhan acted as safety valves. Floodwater from their houses could be repaired or replaced.
the river was diverted into the lakes, reducing the
potential flood peak. More recently, farmers have ⦁ People were out of work for months while factories
been reclaiming polders from the lakes to create were repaired.
new farmland. This means the lakes are much ⦁ Great thicknesses of sticky clay were deposited onto
smaller and there is less room in the lakes for the the fertile fields. This clay had to be removed before
floodwaters. Flood peak levels are increased. farming could re-commence.
⦁ Global warming could have resulted in more rainfall ⦁ The total cost to China’s economy was enormous.
in China.
Management of flooding on the
The impacts of the 1998 Chang Chang Jiang
Jiang floods Several schemes have been developed to reduce
The Chang Jiang floods of 1998 were some of the flooding on the Chang Jiang. These include both ‘hard’
worst floods on this river in the last one hundred years. and ‘soft’ engineering projects.

The Three Gorges Dam: a hard engineering solution

Downstream of the city of Chongqing, the Chang Jiang locks has been built at the north-east end of the dam
flows through a deep, narrow section of its valley known and an 18 000 megawatt H.E.P. station has been built
as the ‘Three Gorges’. This is an ideal site for a dam inside the southwest end of the dam. It has cost in
because the reservoir is very big but is contained in excess of US$ 38 billion to build.
the narrow valley and does not spread out over a huge
lowland area. The dam has been built at Sandouping What are the benefits of the
and the reservoir is 660 km long and 1 km wide,
scheme?
extending upstream almost as far as Chongqing.
⦁ At least 50 million people have been protected from
The Three Gorges dam is the largest hard engineering the sort of catastrophic flooding that occurred in
project ever undertaken on a river. Construction 1998, including those living in the mega-cities of
started in 1994 and the dam was completed in 2006. Wuhan and Shanghai.
The project was finally completed in 2009 when the
⦁ Millions of hectares of farmland have been protected
reservoir completely filled up. The dam is 2.3 km long
from flooding and provided with guaranteed irrigation
and almost 200 metres high. A series of gigantic ship
water. This will raise grain and oil-seed production.
30
⦁ Water supplies to the 13 million people living in ⦁ Over 1000 cultural and archaeological sites have
Shanghai are now secure. been flooded, including the Zhang Fei temple.
⦁ It is generating 10 per cent of China’s electricity,
equivalent to 15 nuclear power stations. This is clean Afforestation: a soft
HEP and its production will not contribute to air pollution
or to climate change. The power produced will boost
engineering solution
economic growth, especially in central and eastern Upstream of Chongqing, the Chang Jiang runs through
China, including the cities of Wuhan and Shanghai. a hilly area on the borders of Yunnan and Sichuan
provinces. This used to be heavily forested but many of
⦁ The Chang Jiang is now navigable by ships of up
the trees were cut down in the 1960s for fuel, timber
to 10 000 tonnes, as far upstream as Chongqing.
and farm land. The new fields are used to grow crops
There is expected to be a 500 per cent increase in
like buckwheat but the terraces are poor and soil erosion
river traffic and this will also boost economic growth.
is a problem. Animals are grazed here too. There is a
now a big programme to get the local people to replant
What are the disadvantages of the trees wherever possible. The advantages are:
the scheme? ⦁ Trees encourage interception, evapotranspiration
⦁ The reservoir has flooded 150 towns and cities and infiltration. This will help to reduce flooding, both
and 1300 villages. 1.2 million people have been locally and downstream.
resettled in new settlements close to their old
⦁ Forested areas have less soil erosion. This will be
homes but the compensation did not cover the cost
good for the local area and will reduce the amount of
of their new homes.
silt further down the river. This also reduces flooding
⦁ The reservoir is heavily polluted by toxins from flooded and will reduce the rate of sedimentation in the
mines and factories. This has damaged the river’s Three Gorges reservoir.
fragile ecosystem and species such as the White Flag
⦁ Trees can be harvested for food, fodder, fuel and
River Dolphin and the Siberian Crane are endangered.
timber.
⦁ The landscape itself could be a problem. As the
However, the disadvantages are that the local farmers are
water seeps into the rocks of the steep valley sides,
losing their arable and grazing fields. Many of the trees
landslides are expected. This is also an earthquake
planted are fast growing conifers which are less useful
region and if the dam were to break the resulting
than the natural forest and do not stimulate biodiversity.
flood would be unbelievably devastating.
⦁ The Chang Jiang is laden with silt. This will be 20. ‘The Three Gorges Dam has caused more problems
deposited in the reservoir, reducing its capacity. It than it has solved’. To what extent do you agree with
will have to be dredged or flushed out on a regular this statement?
basis. In the past, farmland downstream was
fertilised with a thin layer of silt each year. This has
been lost and more chemical fertilisers are needed.

31
1 Hydrology and fluvial geomorphology

Key concepts
The key concepts listed in the syllabus are set out below. For each one a summary of how it applies to this chapter is
included.
Space: the drainage basin is an excellent example of the concept of space. The inputs, flows and outputs of the
drainage basin system all operate within and across the space provided by the drainage basin. The nature of the
drainage basin space determines the way in which the system operates to influence the functioning of the streams
and rivers in the drainage basin. The river landscape is another example of the concept of space. The different river
landforms are arranged logically throughout this space, from the upper valley to the lower valley of the river.
Scale: spatial scale is an important concept when studying rivers and their landscapes. Individual landforms are found
at the local scale while drainage basins occupy the regional scale and the hydrological cycle operates at the global
scale. The timescale is important when considering how quickly water moves through a drainage basin, how changes
that are made to the drainage basin can affect these timescales and how these changing timescales can modify the
nature and magnitude of river floods.
Place: distinctive river landforms are found in similar places within drainage basins. The source of a river is usually in
a hilly place while the mouth is often beside the sea. Floodplains are places which provide people who live on them
with opportunities and challenges.
Environment: rivers are part of the natural environment and they interact with people in a variety of ways. Water
abstraction needs to be managed sustainably to ensure that supplies do not run out. Flood risk is a challenge which
needs to be managed sensibly, considering the whole drainage basin and not just one place.
Interdependence: the water cycle operates at a range of scales and its interaction with human systems at each of
these scales is complex. People need to understand the processes and links that operate in each drainage basin
system if they are to successfully exploit the opportunities that it provides to them and manage the threats that it
presents.
Diversity: every drainage basin and river landscape has its own distinctive character but they all obey overarching
physical laws. Despite this, the human response to the opportunities and challenges that rivers provide is variable.
This variation is often to do with the level of economic development of the country or society concerned.
Change: river basins and the landforms in them are constantly changing. This change is not only a response to the
physical processes operating there (e.g. erosion, transportation and deposition) but also to the human activities going
on there (e.g. water abstraction and flood risk management). Geographers should aim to understand the physical
processes, the human activities and the way that the interaction between them leads to change.

32
Exam-style questions
1 Study Fig. 1.47 which shows the annual hydrograph of the River Severn
at Bewdley.

140

120
Discharge in cumecs

100
80
60

40
20

0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Month

Fig. 1.47
(a) Using Fig. 1.47, identify the:
(i) Mean monthly discharge of the River Severn in October? [1]
(ii) The lowest mean monthly discharge of the River Severn and the
month in which it occurs. [2]
(b) Briefly describe the pattern of the annual discharge of the River
Severn. [3]
(c) Suggest how seasonal changes in evapotranspiration could cause the
variations in river discharge shown in Fig. 1.47. [4]
2 (a) (i) Define the terms overland flow and throughflow as they apply to
the movement of water in a drainage basin. [4]
(ii) Briefly explain how the shape of a storm hydrograph can be
affected by overland flow. [3]
(b) Explain how vegetation type can affect the flows and stores of water
in a drainage basin. [8]
(c) With the aid of examples, assess the extent to which human activities
can increase the impact of river floods. [15]

830702_aw01.38 A Level Geography

Barking Dog Art

33