Braided A river pattern made when a shallow

Braided • A river pattern made when a shallow river has deposited gravel islands so that the river is split into several smaller channels. From above the river looks a little like plaited (braided) hair Topic: Water

Deposition • The laying down of material in the landscape. Deposition occurs when the force that was carrying the sediment is reduced. Topic: Water

Erosion • The wearing away of the landscape. Topic: Water

Floodplain • The flat area beside a river channel that is covered in water during flooding. Topic: Water

Gorge • A steep sided, narrow valley. Gorges are often found below a waterfall. Topic: Water

Groundwater • Water in the ground below the water table. Topic: Water

Groundwater Flow • The flow of water through rocks. Topic: Water

Hard Engineering • Artificial structure such as sea walls or concrete river embankments. They are constructed to try to control a natural process such as a river flood or coastal erosion. Topic: Water

Impermeable • Soil or rock which does not allow water to pass through it, such as water or clay. Topic: Water

Infiltrate • The movement of water from the ground surface into the soil. Topic: Water

Intercepts • When water is prevented from falling directly to the ground. For example, the canopy of leaves in a rainforest intercepts rainfall. Topic: Water

Lag Time • The difference in time between a rain storm and the peak flow of floodwater (the maximum discharge) down a river. Topic: Water

Lateral Erosion • The process by which a river can cut sideways into its own river bank. Lateral erosion means that, over time, meanders can cut across the floodplain of a river. Topic: Water

Leaching • The removal of nutrients from the soil by water flowing through it. Topic: Water

Load • The sediment carried by a river. Topic: Water

Meander • A river landform. A sweeping curve or bend in the river’s course. Topic: Water

Mouth • The point at which a river enters a lake or the sea. Topic: Water

Overland Flow • The flow of water across the ground surface. Topic: Water

Peak Discharge • The maximum flow of water recorded in a river during a flood event. Topic: Water

Percolate • A flow in the water cycle. The movement of water out of the soil and into the rocks below. Topic: Water

Potholes • Rounded scour holes in the bedrock of a river or stream. Pot holes are formed when pebbles are turned in a circular motion by the flow of water. Topic: Water

Recharge • Water that enters an aquifier and refills a groundwater store. Topic: Water

Retreat • The gradual backward movement of a landform due to the process of erosion. The coastline retreats due to the erosion of a cliff and a waterfall retreats towards the source of a river as it is eroded. Topic: Water

Saltation • The process by which sand sized particles bounce along the river bed in the flow of water. Topic: Water

Soft Engineering • Alternative methods of reducing floods by planting trees or allowing areas to flood naturally. Topic: Water

Solution • The process which dissolves minerals from rocks into water. Topic: Water

Source • The place where a river starts to flow. Topic: Water

Suspension • The process of transport which carries fine sediment such as silt for long distances down a river. Topic: Water

Throughflow • The downhill flow of water through soil. Topic: Water

Traction • The process of transport which describes the movement of larger pebbles and cobbles as they roll along the bed of a river. Topic: Water

Transport • The movement of material through the landscape. Topic: Water

U-shaped Valley • A trough-shaped valley with very steep sides and a flat bottom that has been eroded by a glacier. Topic: Water

V-shaped Valley • A valley with sides that slope sharply down to a river which has only the narrowest of floodplains. V-shaped valleys are formed where a river is actively cutting downwards into the landscape. Topic: Water