How does a V-shaped valley form?

The river cuts downwards by vertical erosion, and weathering and mass movement then loosen the valley sides so material slips towards the channel, leaving a narrow valley with steep sides.

Why is the outside bend of a meander eroded?

The current is fastest and the channel deepest there, so hydraulic action and abrasion undercut the bank.

Which landform is found on the outside of a meander, and which on the inside?

A steep river cliff on the outside where erosion happens, and a gently sloping slip-off slope of sand and shingle on the inside where deposition happens.

OCR GCSE Geography A J383

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River landforms and how they form

3 things to know
Component 01

Overview

How V-shaped valleys, waterfalls, plunge pools and gorges form, why meanders erode their outer bends, river cliffs and slip-off slopes, ox-bow lakes, floodplains, levees, and why deposition dominates the lower course.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Process

How does a waterfall form where a band of hard rock lies over softer rock?

Key term

What creates the plunge pool at the foot of a waterfall?

Process

How does a gorge form below a waterfall?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
How does a V-shaped valley form?
Model answer
The river cuts downwards by vertical erosion, and weathering and mass movement then loosen the valley sides so material slips towards the channel, leaving a narrow valley with steep sides.
2
How does a waterfall form where a band of hard rock lies over softer rock?
Model answer
The softer rock downstream is worn away faster, leaving a step, and the water then plunges over the resistant rock and undercuts the weaker rock beneath it.
3
What creates the plunge pool at the foot of a waterfall?
Model answer
Hydraulic action and abrasion by the falling water and the rock it carries hollow out a deep pool at the base.
4
How does a gorge form below a waterfall?
Model answer
The overhang of hard rock collapses again and again and the waterfall retreats upstream, leaving a narrow, steep-sided gorge along the stretch it has moved back through.
5
Why is the outside bend of a meander eroded?
Model answer
The current is fastest and the channel deepest there, so hydraulic action and abrasion undercut the bank.
6
Which landform is found on the outside of a meander, and which on the inside?
Model answer
A steep river cliff on the outside where erosion happens, and a gently sloping slip-off slope of sand and shingle on the inside where deposition happens.

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