Leaving Certificate Geography

  • Home
  • Physical Geography
    • Skills (Maps, Photos, Graphs) >
      • Ordnance Survey Map skills
      • Aerial photographs
      • Graph skills
    • Horizons Second Edition >
      • Chapter 1 Plate Tectonics
      • Chapter 2 Folding and Faulting
      • Chapter 3 Earthquakes
      • Chapter 4 Volcanoes
      • Chapter 5 The rock cycle
      • Chapter 6 Weathering
      • Chapter 7 The Karst Landscape
      • Chapter 8 Mass Movement
      • Chapter 9 Rivers
      • Chapter 10 Coastal Studies
    • Planet and People physical chapters >
      • Plate tectonics >
        • Plate Tectonics 2
        • Plate Tectonics 3
      • Rock Formation and Cycle >
        • Rocks
        • Rock types and their formation
        • Rock Cycle
        • Rock Cycle 2
        • The Rock Cycle 3
        • Rock Landscapes: Limestone
        • Intrusive and Extrusive volcanic landforms
        • Human interaction with the rock cycle
        • Tara Mines case study
      • Folding and Faulting
      • Weathering and Erosion
      • River processes and features
      • Glaciation
      • Coastal Studies >
        • Coastal Studies Ms. Carr
  • Regional Geography
    • Horizons Regional Chapters >
      • Chapter 22 Concept of a region
      • Chapter 23 The Western Region
      • Chapter 24 The Greater Dublin Area
      • Chapter 25 The Paris Basin
      • Mezzogiorno: Peripheral European region
      • Subcontinental India
    • Planet and People Regional Chapters >
      • Regional Geography Outline
      • Definition of Regions
      • Ireland: The Greater Dublin Region - Core
      • West of Ireland - Ms. Carr
      • The West of Ireland : Peripheral Region
      • Core region: Paris Basin
      • European Regions (Core Periphery) >
        • Paris Basin: Ms. Carr
        • Mezzogiorno - peripheral region
        • Mezzogiorno: European Peripheral Region
      • Subcontinental Region: India >
        • Introduction
        • India: Powerpoint
        • India: Secondary Activities
        • India: Tertiary Activities
        • India: Ms. Carr
      • EU enlargement
  • Elective: Human Environment
    • Folens: Human Elective >
      • Chapter One: Populations
      • Chapter 2 Human development and overpopulation
      • Chapter 3 The dynamics of settlement
      • Chapter 4 Migration
      • Chapter 5 Urban problems
      • Chapter 6 Urban settlement and planning issues
    • Planet and People: Human Elective >
      • Chapter 1: Population Studies >
        • Population test
      • Chapter 2 Overpopulation in Sudan >
        • Overpopulation question
        • Overpopulation and Resources
      • Chapter 3: Migration >
        • Migration Test
        • Student presentations
        • Student Presentations 2
      • Chapter 4 Settlement >
        • Settlement Patterns
        • Student work
        • Student work 2
      • Urban Sprawl-Introduction
      • Chaper 5 Three urban land use models >
        • Chapter 5: Land use change
      • Chapter 6 Urban problems in developed world cities
      • Chapter 7 Heritage Issues & Environmental Issues
      • Chapter 8 Urban planning strategies in Ireland >
        • Chapter 9 Developing world cities / counter-urbanisation
  • Culture and Identity (Hons)
    • Physical indicators of population
    • Cultural indicators of population
    • Nationality and Nation states
    • Case study: Switzerland
  • Geoecology (Hons)
    • Soils
    • Aridisoils
    • Brown earth soils
    • Latosols - Tropical rainforest soil
    • Soil Formation
    • Soil erosion - human activities
    • Soil erosion - preventative methods
    • Biome: Tropical rainforest
  • Field Investigation
    • 2013 field study
  • Exam and Papers
    • Leaving Cert Exam
    • Honours Paper
    • Ordinary Paper
    • What do I study?
  • Revision Centre
    • Physical Revision >
      • Physical Powerpoints
      • Plate tectonic questions
      • Volcano & Earthquake questions
      • Rock revision
      • River Revision
      • Glaciation Revision
    • Regional Revision >
      • Regional Powerpoints
      • EU expansion revision
      • European Regional Revision
    • Elective Revision >
      • Human Elective Powerpoints
      • Economic short questions (H&O)
    • Geoecology Option >
      • Geoecology Powerpoints
      • Geoecology questions
    • Sample Answers >
      • Sample Answers Outline
      • Physical: Sample Answers >
        • Waterfall: River Landform
        • Delta: River Landform
        • Cirques: Glacial landform
        • Drumlin: Glacial landform
        • Cave,Arch,Stack,Stump: Coastal landform
        • Beaches: Coastal landform
        • Isostatic and Eustatic Processes
        • Human control of natural processes
        • Impact of Flood Control
        • Impact of Coastal Management
        • Landform in a Karst landscape
        • Weathering and Erosion
      • Regional: Sample Answers >
        • Regions are areas defined by one or more criteria (two discussed)
        • Agriculture in Irish region influenced by factors
        • Development of agriculture in Mezzo influenced by factors
        • Development of agriculture in Paris Basin influenced by factors
        • Development of secondary activities in a Core Region
        • Industry in The Greater Dublin Area
        • The Gaeltacht
        • Climatic Region: The Cool Temperate Oceanic Climate
        • Tertiary activities in the Paris Basin
        • Two EU policies and their impact
        • EU expansion and the impact on a member state
        • The defining role of Culture (India)
        • Urban Growth : Kolkata, India
        • Growth of an urban area Paris
        • Culture defining a region - India -outline
      • Elective: Sample Answers >
        • Migration
        • Overpopulation
        • Three Urban Models
        • Geoecology: Sample Essays >
          • Soil Formation
          • Characteristics of soil
          • How human activities can accelerate soil erosion
          • Natural processes and soil
          • Tropical rainforest biome
          • Human interaction with a biome
        • Urban problems and solutions
        • Map work: Location of a Town
      • Swapped powerpoints
  • General Information
    • Geography at Leaving Cert level
  • Home
  • Physical Geography
    • Skills (Maps, Photos, Graphs) >
      • Ordnance Survey Map skills
      • Aerial photographs
      • Graph skills
    • Horizons Second Edition >
      • Chapter 1 Plate Tectonics
      • Chapter 2 Folding and Faulting
      • Chapter 3 Earthquakes
      • Chapter 4 Volcanoes
      • Chapter 5 The rock cycle
      • Chapter 6 Weathering
      • Chapter 7 The Karst Landscape
      • Chapter 8 Mass Movement
      • Chapter 9 Rivers
      • Chapter 10 Coastal Studies
    • Planet and People physical chapters >
      • Plate tectonics >
        • Plate Tectonics 2
        • Plate Tectonics 3
      • Rock Formation and Cycle >
        • Rocks
        • Rock types and their formation
        • Rock Cycle
        • Rock Cycle 2
        • The Rock Cycle 3
        • Rock Landscapes: Limestone
        • Intrusive and Extrusive volcanic landforms
        • Human interaction with the rock cycle
        • Tara Mines case study
      • Folding and Faulting
      • Weathering and Erosion
      • River processes and features
      • Glaciation
      • Coastal Studies >
        • Coastal Studies Ms. Carr
  • Regional Geography
    • Horizons Regional Chapters >
      • Chapter 22 Concept of a region
      • Chapter 23 The Western Region
      • Chapter 24 The Greater Dublin Area
      • Chapter 25 The Paris Basin
      • Mezzogiorno: Peripheral European region
      • Subcontinental India
    • Planet and People Regional Chapters >
      • Regional Geography Outline
      • Definition of Regions
      • Ireland: The Greater Dublin Region - Core
      • West of Ireland - Ms. Carr
      • The West of Ireland : Peripheral Region
      • Core region: Paris Basin
      • European Regions (Core Periphery) >
        • Paris Basin: Ms. Carr
        • Mezzogiorno - peripheral region
        • Mezzogiorno: European Peripheral Region
      • Subcontinental Region: India >
        • Introduction
        • India: Powerpoint
        • India: Secondary Activities
        • India: Tertiary Activities
        • India: Ms. Carr
      • EU enlargement
  • Elective: Human Environment
    • Folens: Human Elective >
      • Chapter One: Populations
      • Chapter 2 Human development and overpopulation
      • Chapter 3 The dynamics of settlement
      • Chapter 4 Migration
      • Chapter 5 Urban problems
      • Chapter 6 Urban settlement and planning issues
    • Planet and People: Human Elective >
      • Chapter 1: Population Studies >
        • Population test
      • Chapter 2 Overpopulation in Sudan >
        • Overpopulation question
        • Overpopulation and Resources
      • Chapter 3: Migration >
        • Migration Test
        • Student presentations
        • Student Presentations 2
      • Chapter 4 Settlement >
        • Settlement Patterns
        • Student work
        • Student work 2
      • Urban Sprawl-Introduction
      • Chaper 5 Three urban land use models >
        • Chapter 5: Land use change
      • Chapter 6 Urban problems in developed world cities
      • Chapter 7 Heritage Issues & Environmental Issues
      • Chapter 8 Urban planning strategies in Ireland >
        • Chapter 9 Developing world cities / counter-urbanisation
  • Culture and Identity (Hons)
    • Physical indicators of population
    • Cultural indicators of population
    • Nationality and Nation states
    • Case study: Switzerland
  • Geoecology (Hons)
    • Soils
    • Aridisoils
    • Brown earth soils
    • Latosols - Tropical rainforest soil
    • Soil Formation
    • Soil erosion - human activities
    • Soil erosion - preventative methods
    • Biome: Tropical rainforest
  • Field Investigation
    • 2013 field study
  • Exam and Papers
    • Leaving Cert Exam
    • Honours Paper
    • Ordinary Paper
    • What do I study?
  • Revision Centre
    • Physical Revision >
      • Physical Powerpoints
      • Plate tectonic questions
      • Volcano & Earthquake questions
      • Rock revision
      • River Revision
      • Glaciation Revision
    • Regional Revision >
      • Regional Powerpoints
      • EU expansion revision
      • European Regional Revision
    • Elective Revision >
      • Human Elective Powerpoints
      • Economic short questions (H&O)
    • Geoecology Option >
      • Geoecology Powerpoints
      • Geoecology questions
    • Sample Answers >
      • Sample Answers Outline
      • Physical: Sample Answers >
        • Waterfall: River Landform
        • Delta: River Landform
        • Cirques: Glacial landform
        • Drumlin: Glacial landform
        • Cave,Arch,Stack,Stump: Coastal landform
        • Beaches: Coastal landform
        • Isostatic and Eustatic Processes
        • Human control of natural processes
        • Impact of Flood Control
        • Impact of Coastal Management
        • Landform in a Karst landscape
        • Weathering and Erosion
      • Regional: Sample Answers >
        • Regions are areas defined by one or more criteria (two discussed)
        • Agriculture in Irish region influenced by factors
        • Development of agriculture in Mezzo influenced by factors
        • Development of agriculture in Paris Basin influenced by factors
        • Development of secondary activities in a Core Region
        • Industry in The Greater Dublin Area
        • The Gaeltacht
        • Climatic Region: The Cool Temperate Oceanic Climate
        • Tertiary activities in the Paris Basin
        • Two EU policies and their impact
        • EU expansion and the impact on a member state
        • The defining role of Culture (India)
        • Urban Growth : Kolkata, India
        • Growth of an urban area Paris
        • Culture defining a region - India -outline
      • Elective: Sample Answers >
        • Migration
        • Overpopulation
        • Three Urban Models
        • Geoecology: Sample Essays >
          • Soil Formation
          • Characteristics of soil
          • How human activities can accelerate soil erosion
          • Natural processes and soil
          • Tropical rainforest biome
          • Human interaction with a biome
        • Urban problems and solutions
        • Map work: Location of a Town
      • Swapped powerpoints
  • General Information
    • Geography at Leaving Cert level

River erosion

A waterfall is a feature of erosion found in the youth stage of a river.

Waterfalls are found in areas with bands of hard and soft rock (otherwise known as resistant and less resistant rocks).  The hard rock takes longer to erode than the soft rock (differential erosion) so the river erodes the land at different rates.  The river erodes the soft rock by the main processes of erosion including Hydraulic Action (the force and power of the moving river) and Abrasion (the scraping of the load against the bed and banks).

At first a small notch is created in the bedrock.  This is a groove or dip in the soft rock.  The notch may only be a few inches of a drop yet it increases the speed of the river falling over the edge.  This encourages the river to erode vertically (downcutting) into the soft rock creating a vertical drop.

Over time the waterfall deepens as the soft rock is continuously eroded.  At the base of a waterfall a rounded pool is found.  This is called a plunge pool.  The force of the falling water causes the water to swirl in the pool in a movement called eddying.

As the water falls the hydraulic action may cause water to splash back against the back wall causing further erosion.  This causes undercutting of the back wall.  Finally the overhang of hard rock is unstable and unsupported due to undercutting.  It collapses and the rocks fall into the plunge pool.

Waterfalls continue to erode backwards in a process called headward erosion.  This is when the hard and soft rock is all worn away and the river returns to its original slope.

There are two main types of waterfall:

Cataracts are large vertical falls of water and cascades are waterfalls that fall over a series of smaller steps or drops.

·         3 examples (one Irish)

·         Draw, colour, label diagram

Picture
waterfall.docx
File Size: 61 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.