Channel The part of the river valley occupied by the water itself

Hydraulic Action The power of the water hitting the banks of a river

Abrasion Load carried by the river hitting the bed and banks

Attrition Load carried by the river hitting each other and becoming smaller, smoother and rounder.

Solution The dissolving of certain minerals in the water. e.g. limestone. This is a form of transport too.

Load Material carried by a river

Traction The rolling of boulders along the river bed

Saltation The bouncing of small stones and sand along the river bed

Suspension Small material carried within a river.

Long profile The course of a river from the source to the mouth

Waterfall The sudden and often vertical, drop of a river.

Gorge A narrow and steep sided valley

Meander A bend in the river

Oxbow lake A dried up meander that has been cut off from the river. They are generally horse shoe shaped.

Floodplain The flat area next to the river generally in the lower course.

Levees Raised river banks. They can be formed naturally or artificially and can be used as flood defences

Precipitation Any source of water that falls from the sky

Interception Water being prevented from reaching the ground by trees or grass

Surface storage Water held on the ground. e.g. in puddles

Infiltration Water sinking into the ground from the surface

Soil moisture Water held in the soil layer

Percolation Water seeping deeper into the ground

Groundwater Water stored in the rock below the surface.

Transpiration Water given to the atmosphere by vegetation

Evaporation Water lost from the ground. Water turning from liquid to vapour

Surface runoff Water flowing on top of the ground

Throughflow Water flowing through the soil layer

Groundwater flow Water flowing through lower rock layers

Water table The upper level of saturated rock

Discharge The volume (amount) of water passing a particular point at a certain time

Drainage basin An area of land that is drained by a river and its tributaries

Flood / storm hydrograph

A line graph drawn to show the change in discharge after a period of rainfall

Impermeable Rock that does not allow water to soak into it

Permeable Rock that does allow water to soak into it

Deforestation Cutting down trees

Urbanisation The increase in the proportion of people living in cities leading to their growth

Floods When a river channel cannot carry an increased capacity of water and breaks it’s banks

Hard engineering The use of technology to control rivers

Soft engineering This involves working within nature to control and prevent flooding

Straightening meanders

This is an artificial method of controlling flooding by allowing water to flow quicker from an area.

Floodplain zoning Controlling what is built on a floodplain to lower the risk of damage during a flood

Water stress This occurs when the amount of water available does not meet that required.

Areas of deficit Locations where the amount of rainfall does not provide enough water on a permanent basis

Areas of surplus Areas that have more water than is needed.