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New
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Year 10
Edexcel B

River processes of erosion, transportation and deposition

I can understand the processes at work in a river.

icon-background-square
New
New
Year 10
Edexcel B

River processes of erosion, transportation and deposition

I can understand the processes at work in a river.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Rivers erode landscapes through the processes of hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition and solution.
  2. Rivers transport sediment through the processes of traction, saltation, suspension and solution.
  3. Rivers deposit sediment in areas of low energy.

Keywords

  • Sediment - particles of rock, soil, and organic material that are carried by a river as it flows (they vary in size from fine silt to larger boulders)

  • River discharge - the volume of water that flows through a river at a given point over a specific period of time

  • River velocity - the speed at which water flows in a river

Common misconception

Deposition only occurs at the mouth of a river.

Deposition happens at the mouth of a river, but it also occurs wherever the river loses energy and can no longer carry its load of sediment.


To help you plan your year 10 geography lesson on: River processes of erosion, transportation and deposition, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use of mini whiteboards to allow students to test understanding of these proceses will help to develop understanding for use in later lessons.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What is erosion?
The process of water slowing down
The movement of material along the river
Correct answer: The wearing away of riverbanks and bed by water and sediment
The depositing of material by a river
Q2.
What is a meander?
Correct answer: A bend in the river’s course
A waterfall formed by erosion
A fast-flowing section of a river
A landform found in the upper course
Q3.
What is a floodplain?
A steep valley created by erosion
Correct answer: A flat area next to a river that floods
A type of river erosion
A deep section of a river’s channel
Q4.
How does a river valley change as it moves downstream?
Correct answer: It gets wider and flatter with gentler slopes
It stays the same from source to mouth
It becomes steeper with more waterfalls
It becomes deeper and narrower with no change in width
Q5.
What is the watershed?
The start of a river
A smaller river that joins the main river
Where a river end meets the sea
Correct answer: The boundary of the drainage basin
Q6.
A river's __________ describes the river's journey from source to mouth.
cross section
gradient
Correct answer: long profile

4 Questions

Q1.
__________ is the breakdown and removal of material by a river.
Correct answer: Erosion
Transportation
Deposition
Q2.
When does deposition occur?
Correct answer: At the mouth of a river
Correct answer: Wherever the river loses energy and can no longer carry its load of sediment
When a river is flowing very quickly
Q3.
What ways do rivers transport sediment?
Correct answer: Suspension, solution, traction, saltation
Suspension, supposition, trapping, saltinisation
Moving, dropping, rolling, dissolving
Q4.
What is river discharge?
The sediment carried by the river
The speed of the water in the river
Correct answer: The volume of water that flows through a river at a specific point/time