What you'll learn
How rivers shape the land from source to mouth, and how flooding is managed.
The drainage basin and processes
- Key terms: source, mouth, tributary, watershed, confluence.
- Erosion (hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, solution), transportation and deposition.
Landforms
- Upper course: V-shaped valleys, waterfalls and gorges.
- Middle course: meanders and river cliffs/slip-off slopes.
- Lower course: ox-bow lakes, floodplains, levées and deltas.
Flooding
- Physical and human causes; effects and management (hard vs soft engineering, e.g. dams, embankments, afforestation).
Exam tips
- Use annotated diagrams to explain landforms such as waterfalls and meanders.
- Support flood answers with a named river case study.
Common mistakes
- Placing landforms in the wrong course.
- Confusing erosion with deposition features.