10. Rivers Question Time 1. Explain why wide valleys are found in the mature stage of a river.
2. Why is the soil on a flood plain good for growing crops?
3. Explain why, in your opinion, it would be important to know if your land is on a flood plain before building a home or business.
4. Describe with the aid of a labelled diagram how a meander is formed.
5. Look at this photo of a meander. For each of the points labelled A and B, state whether erosion or deposition is occurring. What evidence can you see to support your answer?
10.6 Landforms of an Old River
Feature: Levees A levee is a build-up of alluvium on the banks of a river and is a feature of the old stage river. Levees are caused by floods and are a feature of deposition.
Example: Levees can be seen in the lower course of the River Liffey and the River Moy, Co. Mayo.
How a Levee Forms 1 During times of low flow in a river, the load that is being carried by the river is dropped onto the river bed. This raises the height of the bed.
2 During times of flood, the water flows out more easily over the top of the channel and onto the surrounding land. As it does this, it loses energy and deposits its load.
3 The heavy coarse material is deposited on the river banks. The finer silt is deposited further away onto the flood plain.
4 After many floods, the river builds up a bank on either side. 11. How a levee forms Before flood River bank B A
River bed During flood Flood-stage water level
Heaviest and coarsest sediments deposited at channel edges
After many floods Natural levees built up by many floods
Thin and fine sediments deposited over outer parts of flood plain