Short

Notes
1: Denudation/Degradation: It stands for the leveling down of Earth’s
elevated features. The word denudation has been derived from the
Latin word denudare meaning to lay bare. The processes of
denudation include weathering and erosion.
2: Erosion: It has been derived from the Latin word erodere meaning to
wear away. It is a process in which the transporting agents remove
the broken rock materials from the place to its origin to its next
resting place. The main agents of erosion are running water, moving
ice, wind and sea waves.
3: Aggradation/Deposition: It stands for filling up depressions.
4: River System: The main river along with other tributaries together
develops a river system or river basin.
5: Source of a River: The river moves down the slope in a valley from
the place of its origin, which is called its source.
6: Mouth of a River: The river falls in to a large body of water such as a
lake, sea or ocean. This place is called its mouth.
7: River basin: The area in which the work of the river is carried out on
a large scale is called the river basin.
8: I-shaped valley: A narrow and deep valley with steep walls created
by downward erosion or down cutting work of river.
9: V-shaped valley: The upper part of the valley is widened due to the
work of weathering, giving it a typical V-shape. It is known as V-
shaped valley.
10: Hanging Valley: The waterfalls are also formed when tributary
streams join the main stream from a higher point, thus forming a
hanging valley.
11: Rapids: The steep sloping segments of the rivers are called rapids.
12: Meanders: The sluggish water of the river is turned at the
slightest obstruction. This can form a system of meanders. It is a
characteristic feature of a river in its flood plain. The word meander
is derived from the name of a small winding river Meanders in
Turkey. This river has numerous loops or meanders in its course.
13: Ox-bow Lake: In course of time, due to lateral erosion, the
meandering loops become almost circular and come very close to
each other. The strip of land between these two loops continues to
 become narrow till the river cuts through this strip and takes a
straight course. Thus the circular meander or loop is left behind
completely cut off from the main channel forming an ox-bow lake.
The formation of an ox-bow lake is both due to erosion and
deposition.
14: Braided Stream: The Rivers in lower course, due to a fall in their
transporting power, deposit their excess load of sediments on the
floor of the river channel. This is normally in the form of channel
bars and islands. These bars and islands divide the river channel in
to a network of smaller channels and develop a braided stream.
15: Delta: When a river enters a lake or sea, it tends to deposit its
load at its mouth. This leads to the formation of delta. The word
delta is derived from the Greek letter ∆, was first used by the Greek
historian Herodotus (485-425BC) for the triangular feature of the
Nile River in Africa.
16: Distributaries: The sediment deposits obstruct the free flow of the
main river that gets divided in to several branches is called
distributaries.

Question & Answer

Q1 : What are the factors affecting the work of river?
Ans: The work of river or running water depends on the following
factors:
i) The amount of water in river.
ii) The speed of river.
iii) The slope of the riverbed.
iv) The load carried by the river.
v) The nature of rocks in the valley.
Q2 : List the three ways in which river carries out its work as an agent
of gradation.
Ans: River carries out its work as an agent of gradation in the
following three ways:
i) The water in the river dissolves and erodes the rocks and the
land surface over which it flows.
ii) The water in the river transports the material which its has
 dissolved or eroded away.
iii) The water in the river deposits the material, which it has
transported.
Q3 : How is new relief features created by the River?
Ans: The water in its river deposits the material, which it has
transported. As the river flows down towards the sea , it goes on
depositing sediments in its channel , along the banks and also in
the surrounding areas. This creates new relief features. The order
in which sediments are deposited are boulders, pebbles, gravels,
sand, silt and clay.
Q4 : Explain the development of river Valley.
Q5 : The development of river valley is the combined result of
erosional, transpotational and depositional work of the river. The
river valley formation begins with carving out of the channel. From
the source to its mouth, a river can be divided in to three sections:
i) The Upper course or the Young Stage
ii) The Middle course or the Mature Stage
iii) The Lower course or the Old Stage
Q6 : How are the waterfalls formed in the upper course of a river?
Ans: The most typical feature in the upper course of a river is the
development or the occurrence of waterfalls and rapids:
i) Waterfalls are caused either due to a sudden descent or abrupt
break in the course of the river. It is a vertical drop of water
from great height.
ii) The waterfalls are also formed when tributary streams join the
main stream from a higher point, thus forming hanging
valleys.
iii) The normal waterfalls in the course of a river are generally
formed due to an abrupt change in the slope of valley floor.
Q7 : What is the main work of river in its upper course?
Ans: In the upper course the river carries less volume of water, but
dues to its high velocity, it can transport large amount of
materials:
i) The main work of the river in this stage in the downward
erosion or down cutting, which causes the deepening of river
valley.
 ii) Normally a narrow and deep valley with steep walls is
developed known as I –shaped valley.
iii) The upper part of the valley is widened due to the work of
weathering, giving it a typical V-shape. It is known as V-
shaped valley.
Q8 : How is flat valley floor developed in the Middle course of river?
Ans: The middle course of river begins, where the river leaves the
mountains and enters the plains:
i) Due to the abrupt change in the slope of the river bed, the
speed of the river slackens.
ii) Now a number of tributaries join the main river and thus the
river’s volume increases.
iii) At this stage the down cutting is less important than the
widening of the valley floor.
iv) The lateral cutting of the valley results in the development of
the flat valley floor.
Q9 : What are the two types of slopes developed by a meander?
Ans: Each bend of meander has two types of slopes on the valley sides:
i) One side of the meander loop has concave slope, where the
river strikes the valley –sides directly. This side is subjected to
severe erosion resulting in the formation of cliffs.
ii) The other side of meander loop has a convex slope. Here sand,
gravel, and even alluvium are deposited.
Q10 : What are factors controlling meandering of river?
Ans: The meandering of river is a natural process and is controlled by
a number of factors, such as:
i) The variety of Rocks
ii) The general topography of the area
iii) The amount and distribution of annual precipitation.
iv) The vegetation cover
v) The discharge of water in the stream.
vi) The stage of river development
vii) The cycle of erosion, i.e. the time factor.
Q11 : How can the flow of the river water be checked?
Ans: The flow of the river water can be checked in one of the following
 ways:
i) When the river leaves the hills and enters the plains, due to
break in slopes.
ii) When the river enters a lake or sea,
iii) When the valley floor widens and floods the surrounding
regions,
iv) When river enters the arid region and the volume of water is
rapidly reduced,
v) When the river enters the sea and the deposition is made
around the mouth of the river,
vi) When the river is overloaded, that is much above its carrying
capacity.
Q12 : Describe the conditions favorable for the formation and
development of a delta.
Ans: The ideal conditions for the formation and growth of delta are as
under:
i) The river should originate from the high mountains and should
have a well-developed river system. It will help in bringing
down a large amount of sediments.
ii) During the course of the river there should not be any big lake,
otherwise the sediments brought by the river would get
deposited in these lakes.
iii) The lower course of the river should be extensive and plain. It
will make the flow of the river sluggish; otherwise the
deposition will not be possible.
iv) The deposition of sediments takes place regularly at the mouth
of the river, on the sides of the stream channel, in the bed of
the river and in front of the river mouth.
v) These deposits obstruct the free flow of the main river, which
gets divided in to several branches, called distributaries. The
network of these distributaries finally gives shape to delta.
Q13 :