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Erosion Processes and Solutions

Rivers shape the land by eroding and transporting material from higher elevations to lower elevations. The erosion process begins with weathering of rock slopes near the river's source, then the river erodes downward forming a V-shaped valley. Material is transported down the valley slopes and river bed by gravity, rainwater and flowing water. When the flowing water can no longer carry its sediment load, the material is deposited forming landforms like floodplains and alluvial plains. Coasts are similarly shaped by erosion, deposition and landform changes caused by the sea. During storms, waves erode cliffs and loose materials are transported and deposited elsewhere along the coast in landforms like beaches, spits and bars. Various

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Sudharshini Sridharan
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106 views7 pages

Erosion Processes and Solutions

Rivers shape the land by eroding and transporting material from higher elevations to lower elevations. The erosion process begins with weathering of rock slopes near the river's source, then the river erodes downward forming a V-shaped valley. Material is transported down the valley slopes and river bed by gravity, rainwater and flowing water. When the flowing water can no longer carry its sediment load, the material is deposited forming landforms like floodplains and alluvial plains. Coasts are similarly shaped by erosion, deposition and landform changes caused by the sea. During storms, waves erode cliffs and loose materials are transported and deposited elsewhere along the coast in landforms like beaches, spits and bars. Various

Uploaded by

Sudharshini Sridharan
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Rivers, coasts and glaciations

notes
How rivers help shape the land.

The making of a V-shaped valley


1. Slopes attacked by weathering (from river source)
2. River erodes downwards
3. Gravity and rainwater move the material downwards (slope transport)
4. Rocks and pebbles move along the bed(from v-shaped valley)
5. Weathered and eroded material transported by river.
Source: - Where the river starts
Spurs: - ridges of land around where a river winds
Valley sides: - Slopes to either side of the river
V-shaped valley: - Shape of a valley in its upper course
Channel: - Upper course of a river
River banks: - sides in the river
River bed: - The bottom of a river
Channel.
Load- Material carried downstream

What causes waterfalls?


What happens on a river bend?

Deposition landform : - Most common feature of the shoreline. It is the process of taking loosened material and depositing
it elsewhere. Beaches are the example of the process.

Spit:- accumulation of sand or shingles that grows outwards from a coastline /river mouth.
Meander: - A large bend in a river
Alluvium/silt: - Fine material left behind after a river flood.
Flood plain: - flat part of the river which is often flooded.

How does the sea shape the coast?


Erosion landforms are made by the wearing away of the coast. In storms, the sea picks up loose
rocks and throws them at the seashore. The bombardment undercut cliffs open up cracks and
breaks rocks into smaller and smaller pieces. Areas which have soft rock erode more easily than
hard rocks. These soft rock become bays and the hard rock areas become headlands.
 the sea attacks small cracks and opens them
 the cracks get larger and develop into a cave
 the cave wears out right into the headland and an arch forms
 further erosion causes the arch to collapse leaving behind a pillar known as a stac’
Bays:- An opening in the coastline Headland:- Stretch of land jutting out into the sea.

What is coastal erosion


Coastal erosion causes many problems. Agricultural land may be lost, buildings will get destroyed
and transport links are put in danger.
How does it occur?
How coastal erosion be reduced?
There are ways to fix coastal erosion like putting sea defences however, it is
not the best solution because although it protects the land the materials
needed to construct are costly.
 Sea walls :- Stop waves from reaching the land and reflects them back into
the sea. They give good protection but are expensive and need to be
repaired on time
 Beach rebuilding :- Replaces sand or shingles lost from the [Link] beach
absorbs wave energy and is a good defence against the sea.
 Groynes: - Built from the sea about 200m from the sea. They slow the
movement of the material
along the coast and builds up the beach.
 Rip-rap :- Mixture of large boulders and concrete blocks which protect the
coast by breaking up the waves. They don’t protect cliffs or sea walls but
they retain the beach. It can look ugly and make beack access difficult.

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