New
New
Year 9

River processes

I can explain the processes of river erosion, transportation and deposition.

New
New
Year 9

River processes

I can explain the processes of river erosion, transportation and deposition.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. There are four types of erosion: abrasion, hydraulic action, attrition and solution.
  2. There are four types of transportation: traction, solution, suspension and saltation.
  3. Deposition occurs when the river has lost its energy and can no longer carry its load.

Keywords

  • Erosion - the process by which Earth’s surface, e.g. rock or soil, is worn away and transported from its ordinal state and original location

  • Transportation - where rivers move sand, mud and rocks

  • Deposition - when sand, mud and rocks are dropped by the river

Common misconception

Attrition is where rocks and sediment carried by the river collide with the bed and the banks causing pieces to break off.

Abrasion is where rocks and sediment carried by the river collide with the bed and the banks causing pieces to break off.


To help you plan your year 9 geography lesson on: River processes, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use a classroom item such as a pencil sharpener to demonstrate the different modes of river transport.
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Equipment

Licence

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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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Where does a river usually start?
At its estuary
In a lowland area
Correct answer: At its source
In the ocean
Q2.
What is a meander?
A deep hole in a river
A type of waterfall
Correct answer: A bend in a river’s course
A fast-flowing river
Q3.
What is the boundary of a drainage basin called?
Correct answer: Watershed
Tributary
Estuary
Floodplain
Q4.
What causes rivers to flood?
Heavy rainfall
Melting snow
Human activities like deforestation
Correct answer: All of the above
Q5.
What is the hydrological cycle?
The way water stays in rivers
The freezing of lakes
Correct answer: The movement of water through land, air, and sea
A cycle that only happens in the ocean
Q6.
What is precipitation?
Correct answer: Water falling from clouds as rain, snow, sleet, or hail
Water soaking into the ground
Water turning into vapour
Water evaporating from the ocean

Assessment exit quiz

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4 Questions

Q1.
What is erosion in a river?
The process of water slowing down
Correct answer: The wearing away of riverbanks and bed by water and sediment
The movement of material along the river
The depositing of material by a river
Q2.
What best describes the process of attrition in a river?
Rocks collide with the river bed and banks, causing erosion
Water dissolves minerals from the rocks
Correct answer: Rocks and sediment collide with each other and break into smaller pieces
The river deposits material along its banks
Q3.
What is hydraulic action?
Water dissolving minerals from rock
Water carrying small particles in suspension
Water rolling large boulders along the riverbed
Correct answer: Water forcing air into cracks, breaking rock apart
Q4.
Which of these transportation processes involves large rocks rolling along the riverbed?
Correct answer: Traction
Suspension
Solution
Saltation